


Sisters of Winter

by Lalaith_Quetzalli



Series: Nightingale [31]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/M, Families of Choice, Family, Family Feels, Friendship, Inhumans (Marvel), Minor Character Death, Name Changes, POV First Person, POV Multiple, POV Third Person, Reincarnation, Secret Identity, Secrets, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-27
Packaged: 2019-05-06 09:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 26,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14638731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lalaith_Quetzalli/pseuds/Lalaith_Quetzalli
Summary: Alternative Universe to Nightingale (Can be read as a Stand Alone)One a songbird waiting for her love, another an angel covered in thorns, the third a lost warrior queen; three girls born to tragedy and hope, raised in shadows and secrets, united by winter, a family by choice. The Winter Soldier and his Sisters will set the record straight and right old wrongs, no matter the cost.





	1. Bird, Thorns, Flower

**Author's Note:**

> So... we're back. I'm so not over Infinity War just yet, but I did promise to come back in a month so here we are. Also, I actually do have some hope for the part two of this war so... yeah. I cannot help but feel that the real Thanos ended up being less insane and scary, yet at the same time somehow far more terrifying than mine... and mine was an actual Titan! So yeah, very proud of canon Thanos, and I didn't think that was actually possible.
> 
> Anyway, enough on that. Regardless of what may or may not have happened in canon, my universe will remain as it is, just so you know.
> 
> And with this we begin the fourth and last set of AUs (there will be quite a few, trust me). For this particular piece, when I was posting Horizon, on the subject of the person who helped Skye and Aria escape, I asked readers to try and guess who it had been. Few did, and one guess... well, it stayed with me. I couldn't do it then, because I'd already written the story, but I decided I needed to write that version. I was going to follow the same line as Horizon, until I realized the story would end up being too similar, so I decided to make the 'changed decision' (the one upon which the AU depends) earlier. This is what came out. Some things even I didn't plan for. Hope you'll enjoy it!
> 
> Fic has changing POVs, though please remember that the Nightingale will always be the first to narrate, unless specified otherwise.
> 
> Dreamcast for this story: Emily Browning as Nightingale/Aria, Katie McGrath as Helena, Amanda Seyfried as Ylva and Shiloh Fernandez as Fenrir.
> 
> The songs for this chapter are: "Hand of Sorrow" as sung by Within Temptation, and "Whose Side Are You On?" by Ruelle.

 

Sisters of Winter

(Alternative Universe to  _Nightingale_ )

_By: Lalaith Quetzalli_

_One a songbird waiting for her love, another an angel covered in thorns, the third a lost warrior queen; three girls born to tragedy and hope, raised in shadows and secrets, united by winter, a family by choice. The Winter Soldier and his Sisters will set the record straight and right old wrongs, no matter the cost._

**A Bird, Thorns and a Flower**

Some families are born in water and love, others are forged in blood and snow.

" _The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water from the womb"_

I'd no idea where or when I first read that quote, but it always had a special meaning to me; and how could it not when it seemed to be my whole life in a nutshell?

My clearest, oldest memory was of being carried away from the remains of the family car seconds before it had blown up, with my father still inside; one arm warm, flesh and blood, the other cold, metal. I was six years old.

I thought I died back then, was fairly sure about that, even if I couldn't quite remember it. I knew my father and I'd been in Portland, Maine, attending a concert by the Philharmonic Orchestra, the very same mom used to play the piano for, before I was born. We'd been on our way back home, to Salani Manor in Westbrook, Maine when… something happened. I never knew what it was exactly. From one moment to the next my father had lost control of the car completely and we went off the road, hit some rocks by the side, the car tumbled a few times. I hit my head at some point, wasn't too clear on a lot of things after that point. Though I did vaguely remember father's face half covered in blood, and a dark figure standing beside a tree, watching us in silence. I also remembered reading somewhere that, after hitting your head, you must not go to sleep, so I tried to stay awake. I talked to myself for a while, and when that failed I began humming, first there were simplified versions of the melodies from the concert, and then something else I probably made up on the spot. I still lost consciousness though, woke up to find myself in my rescuer's arms, being carried away, even as the car blew up, with the only family I'd left inside.

That was the day everything in my life changed. The day I stopped being Silbhé Arianna Kinross Salani and instead became Aria… just Aria. And my rescuer, who also happened to be my would-be assassin, he became so much more…

_I had no idea where we were. Hadn't said a word since being taken from the burning care. I was sure I'd heard sirens at some point, but even then I said nothing, didn't scream, try to escape, nothing at all. And I didn't even know why. I knew my father was dead, I had no family, I was all alone in the world. I should have been terrified by the man taking me with him; even back then I knew, at some level, that he was responsible for my loss, yet I couldn't help the instinct telling me that that man, the one behind our accident, he needed me._

_It should have been insane, it was insane. The man was responsible for my father being dead! And yet… and yet there was something in him, in his stance, his eyes. The man that stood beside me, offering me a water bottle and snacks I guessed he most have 'acquired' in the gas-station we had passed about an hour earlier; he wasn't the same man I'd seen standing beside the highway as I tried and failed to stay conscious even as the seat-belt held me upside down in the half-destroyed car. So I didn't scream, I didn't try to run, I just sat there._

_It was close to dawn that it all caught up to me, the fact that my father was dead, that I was alone except for the man who was responsible for his death; the same man who was keeping me with him for some reason I couldn't fathom. The very one from whom I sensed so much pain and sadness… I was almost drowning in it all. I didn't even really notice it when I began singing…_

" _The child without a name grew up to be the hand_

_To watch you, to shield you or kill on demand_

_The choice he'd made he could not comprehend_

_His blood a grim secret they had to command"_

" _He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life_

_He prayed for both but was denied"_

" _So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed_

_Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?_

_So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise?_

_Will all our sins be justified?"_

" _The curse of his powers tormented his life_

_Obeying the crown was a sinister price_

_His soul was tortured by love and by pain_

_He surely would flee but the oath made him stay"_

" _He's torn between his honor and the true love of his life_

_He prayed for both but was denied"_

_So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed_

_Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?_

_So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise?_

_Will all our sins be justified?"_

" _Please forgive me for the sorrow, for leaving you in fear_

_For the dreams we had to silence, that's all they'll ever be_

_Still I'll be the hand that serves you_

_Though you'll not see that it is me"_

" _So many dreams were broken and so much was sacrificed_

_Was it worth the ones we loved and had to leave behind?_

_So many years have past, who are the noble and the wise?_

_Will all our sins be justified?"_

_It should have been ridiculous, totally ludicrous, me singing such things. I was six years old! What did I know about honor, about sacrifice, about sins? Nothing at all, not consciously at least and yet… and yet I still felt it all, deep inside. I felt it, and I sang it, and at some point it was as if some invisible string snapped._

_I saw it, the exact moment when empty eyes filled up, when light came into them, recognition, like a soul waking up after much too long. The moment those same eyes (blue, so very blue) laid on me, and the exact instant when his mind caught up to what was going on. The scream that came then was so full of horror, and grief, and pain… it was too much for me. I blacked out._

James tried to leave me at least half a dozen times in the following days; and while a part of my mind knew I should have let him. And not even just that, I should have done everything in my power to leave him… I just couldn't. Not sure if it could be considered some form of Stockholm Syndrome. But the simplest truth is that I was painfully aware of the fact that I was completely alone in the world. He was all I had, and regardless of how we'd come to know each other, he had still saved my life, had done his best to look after me in the following days; and I just felt an odd attachment I couldn't quite express.

The last drop (or straw, or whatever metaphor one might choose) came about two weeks or so after my father's death. We were in Boston (I didn't know it at the time, had never been there before, found out afterwards), and James had just tried (and failed) to get rid of me for the umpteenth time (that time he actually tried to get me to the local orphanage: St. Agnes). I noticed just in time to stop the whole thing before any of the nuns there noticed us, pulling him down a different street instead.

" _Why are you doing this?" He demanded as soon as we were out of sight, in some shadowed alleyway, a few blocks from the orphanage._

" _Why do you keep trying to get rid of me?" I demanded in return._

" _Because it's the right thing to do!" He practically snapped at me. "I'm not getting rid of you. I'm keeping you safe."_

" _It's not what I want. I want to stay with you."_

" _Whyever would you want that? It's… have you forgotten I'm the reason that your father is dead? That you're all alone now?"_

" _I..." I swallowed. "I haven't forgotten. But I know that wasn't you, not completely."_

" _You know nothing..."_

" _I know! I can feel it..." I pressed the heel of a hand to my chest, not knowing how to better explain it, I was too young, didn't have the right words. "You need me."_

" _I..." His mix of surprise, disbelief and denial was evident._

_And then our argument was unexpectedly interrupted by an attack. A man, dressed head to toe in black, sprinted into the alley, guns blazing, shooting before fully laying eyes on us. James's reaction was immediate, instinctive. He pulled me behind him, even as he used his metal arm to shield both of us from the bullets, waiting until the man ran out of ammo before pulling out a gun of his own and shot. Just once. That's all that was needed._

" _Come on." He announced the moment he holstered the gun again. "We have to go."_

" _I'm not going to St. Agnes!" I stated loudly._

" _No, you're not." He agreed, very quietly. "They know I'm here, and by now they know you're with me. If I leave you… they'll go after you anyway. So I suppose you'll get what you wanted anyway. Though for the life of me I cannot imagine why anyone would want to stay with the very man who killed…"_

" _Because you're more than just the man who caused my father's death." I told him, not quite knowing where the words were coming from. "And one day I'll make you see that."_

_And so our life together began…_

It wasn't what most would consider the best kind of life. We couldn't stay long anywhere, not with the risk of his old 'employers' finding either of us; or Child Services getting too 'interested' in me, or both of us. Still, we managed. He'd cover his metal arm with long sleeves and gloves, invent something about a terrible accident in his youth leaving him with scars he'd rather cover up; and do odd jobs here and there. Never anything that lasted more than a couple of weeks. As soon as I was old enough I took over handling the food, buying clothes and anything else that we might need. Also keeping an eye out, in case people began getting suspicious.

Sometimes we posed as father and daughter, even when I got older, I was always small enough to pull it off; but it just didn't feel right. James said it was because of the way I insisted on being the caregiver sometimes. And so, when I entered my teens we got into the habit of posing as siblings. It was easier and people never questioned it; even when with his dark hair and blue eyes, and my auburn hair and hazel eyes we looked nothing alike.

We met a great many people during that time, some more interesting than others. Like Red and Masha, a father-daughter pair that were known around the world as the 'concierges of crime'; also, she was apparently a former FBI Agent, and they owed James a favor, as he'd once been sent to murder Red and he'd purposefully failed (it was one of those times he managed to get control before we met). Then there were the Halliwells, in San Francisco, a family of magic users with great power; our first meeting didn't go well, they though James was evil and tried to 'save me'; I disabused them of the notion. It was then that I learned my empathy could be used as a weapon, as I could project emotions, not just sense them. We also came across a young man living in the woods, who claimed he was training to be an agent… he made James uncomfortable so we didn't stay long. And just like those, there were many, many more.

Then, when I was thirteen, things went to hell, again.

_When I first woke up after losing consciousness (after having been knocked out, to be precise) the first thing I did was try to assess my surroundings. I was fairly sure it was HYDRA behind my abduction, or SHIELD… whatever the people in that particular place chose to call themselves, to me it was exactly the same. I found myself in a cell, with nothing but a tiny window on a corner. I could see starlight, very slight, but it was enough, it was all I needed. So with that in mind, I sat down right underneath the window and began humming. It was the same song I'd once sang for James, seven years prior; he claimed that song had saved his life, had given him back his freedom, for good. In that moment I didn't really need the lyrics, what I needed was the power I knew I was capable of imprinting into my songs. I focused on that, and on James finding me, I knew he could do it. He was the best after all._

_It took two days, with next to no sleep, no food and hardly any water before I got out of that room. Or rather, they got me out, only to throw me into another, with two other girls, one my same age, the other two or three years older, and a boy that was, if not eighteen, quite close to it. They were all wearing identical washed-out gray-bodysuits, exactly like me; the only variations being the hood the older gal was wearing, and the gloves (that looked almost like gauntlets) that the younger one wore; also, the guy was wearing an honest-to-the-spirits straight-jacket, that looked like it might be made of the same material as the uniform firefighters wore._

" _Who are you?" The guy demanded, more than asked._

" _Aria." I answered simply. "You?"_

" _Hellfire..." He hissed with a predatory smile, and I could sense the barely leashed fury, he was going to attack me any second._

" _Leave her alone!" One of the girls snapped._

_To my surprise, it was the youngest, the one that was about my age, she stood perfectly straight, staring at the guy until he gave a step back; which surprised me even more. It was almost as if she had some kind of authority over him, ridiculous as that might sound._

" _I am Daisy." The girl turned towards me then. "This is Raina… and he's JT."_

" _Where are we?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. "Why are we here anyway?"_

" _I have no idea why you're here." Daisy stated. "We're here because we're the unwated. The kids no one adopted, and someone decided we'd make good soldiers. That is… until someone else came and decided to turn us into experiments instead."_

" _Experiments?" I didn't understand._

_She extended a hand, as if reaching for something, only to wince._

" _I can't..." She murmured quietly. "Raina…? I'm sorry, can you…?"_

_I had no idea what her half-questions were supposed to mean until a moment later, when the older girl pushed back her hood. I had no words. Instead of hair, her head was covered in thorns, like those of porcupine or… no… like those of a rose._

" _No idea where here is, exactly." Daisy went on. "We could be in Mars, for all I know. Haven't seen the outside in… almost a year now."_

_I made my choice in a flip second. So fast it didn't even seem like a choice at all. It was just something that needed to be done, and I was in a position to do it. I didn't even need to say a word; a moment later the girl with the thorns, Raina, her eyes snapped open and she turned her full attention on me:_

" _You're getting us out."_

_It wasn't a question, not at all. I didn't even think to question how exactly she knew that, I just nodded. I'd no idea how James was going to find me, but I knew he would, sooner or later; he wasn't the kind of man to give up. He would find me, he'd rescue me, and when that happened, I wasn't leaving the others behind._

Things didn't exactly go to plan, because they never do. It took almost a month for James to find me, though I never stopped believing he would. Every minute I spent awake inside the room I'd woken up in initially I'd spend it humming underneath the window, willing the power inside me to carry the melody to James, so he might use it to find me somehow. I had no idea how such a thing could be possible, but I believed it could.

During the day… things were bad. There were doctors drawing blood, making all kinds of exams. And then there were the so-called trainers. I could see what Daisy meant about them having wanted soldiers. The way they came at me… of course, they never expected me to have the skill I did. And why should they? I knew what most people thought when they looked at me, that I was nothing more than a weak little girl. Somewhat pale, slim, and small (I wasn't even five feet tall!), no one ever expected me to be able to hold my own, especially against opponents much bigger, tougher and more experienced than me. Then again, none of them had the slightest idea of who exactly had raised me during the previous seven years…

Even then, I always made sure to control myself carefully, never reveal too much. I was shocking them enough just by being able to defend myself, the last thing I needed was for them to realize I might already be exactly what they wanted to turn Daisy, Raina and JT into. Or perhaps not exactly, because while I might have had the training, I did not have the instincts to fight, not like James did. Which he actually insisted was a good thing, it meant I was good… he also implied it meant I was better than him, with which I did not agree, but still.

From that first meeting, Raina seemed to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that James would find us, and Daisy held onto that belief. It was until much later that I learned why, they weren't quite human (which I'd already deduced), they, all three of them, were inhumans. They had gifts: JT could control fire (hence him choosing to call himself Hellfire), Daisy could make things vibrate and even shatter, while Raina, aside from being covered in thorns (her whole body, not just her head) could see the future. She knew, almost from the start, that James would indeed find us, rescue us.

Daisy believed in Raina wholeheartedly. The two were close, apparently had been since arriving to that awful place. It was Raina who gave the other the name Daisy eventually, it was apparently her birth-name, which Daisy herself hadn't known, as her parents were murdered when she was still a baby. Raina had known about them, and when her powers had manifested, she'd known exactly who Daisy was… She also claimed Daisy was meant to be a queen, the leader of the Inhumans, like her mother had been until her murder; while Raina was shaping herself into her guardian; the thorns to her flower.

Me… I was a bird, always had been. James called me hummingbird, for my habit of humming almost all the time. I also knew some people had called me songbird before, even if I hadn't the slightest idea as to why exactly.

Life was… complicated for me, always had been. It only got worse since I died (if only briefly) when I was six years old. I didn't understand it at first. To me they seemed to be nothing more than dreams. Also, James had mentioned how sometimes I would become very serious, how when agitated I would mutter in languages he didn't know; and the fact that during one particular training session, when he himself came close to losing control and actually hurting me (he was still learning to control himself when not brainwashed) I suddenly pulled moves on him that he'd never seen, much less taught me.

I wouldn't know when exactly I ceased seeing the whole thing as dreams and realized they were truth, it was a very gradual things. The realization that there was more to myself than even I had known, that I had a soulmate, and a daughter waiting for me in other realms… though only Helena (my daughter) knew about me. My match couldn't even remember I had ever existed; not since his own father had made him forget, when the loss of me caused a breakdown he almost didn't come back from. Sad as I was to know he knew nothing of me, I also understood it might be better that way, at least until the time was right for us to meet again. So I'd be patient. I believed it'd be worth it in the end.

Of course, I had things to keep me busy. First there was our constant moving. Then, after my kidnapping and the Kraken (that was the name of the man in charge of that secret lab), and HYDRA… I came to understand that we'd never be fully free of that danger, and I couldn't imagine spending the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. Which meant there was only one thing that could be done: we had to take down HYDRA.

It was insane, even James agreed, but he also knew I was right. It was the only way we'd ever get the chance to truly live. JT wanted nothing to do with it; in fact, the moment we'd left the burning facility behind he'd grunted his thanks at us and taken his leave. Raina whispering we'd never see him again… The true surprise was when Daisy and Raina decided to stay. Raina claimed it was the right thing to do, for us to be safer, and so we might one day bring HYDRA down, together.

And we made preparations… We got lucky in one area, Helena decided to call in some favor an old friend/acquaintance owed her. A magic-user dropped by while we were in our of our recently established safe-houses (Daisy had hacked the accounts of everyone who'd been in that lab, the Kraken included, and had taken over all their assets, we were using those; as well as those of whatever HYDRA bastard that came after us and James ended up killing to keep us safe). We almost went nuts on him when he seemed to drop out of thin air. Thankfully he didn't take it personal, and still gave us the packages some 'Ancient One' had sent us. For Raina there was a choker, pieces of engraved metal interwoven with pieces of silk; once it was on she looked normal (no thorns), it was only an illusion though. Daisy received a pair of armbands that could absorb her own power, so she wouldn't lose control, or hurt herself; also, if she ever needed a lot of power, she could call on whatever reserves might be in the armbands (there was no limit to how much energy they could hold). I received a mithril nightingale-shaped pendant, that one did not come from the Ancient One but from Helena, and it had been spelled with every protective enchantment she could think of.

We trained for years. The three of us alone, with James, and sometimes even with other people we met. We still had to move from place to place every few weeks to avoid being found by HYDRA. We would also help others when we got the chance. Mutants, metas, inhumans, it made no difference to us. Soon, rumors had started, about the girls helping gifted.

We happened to be in New York in 2012, when the sky opened up and a veritable arm descended. I never knew for sure if it was coincidence or if Raina planned it that way. We did what we could to help, without getting directly involved in the fight. It was the closest I got to my match since the start of my new life…

_Daisy, Raina and James found me in the aftermath of the battle, hiding on an alley, behind Stark Tower, crying almost hysterically._

" _What's wrong?" Daisy demanded, masking her worry with anger._

" _There's… there's something very wrong here." I sobbed._

" _What's happened hummingbird?" James asked softly, using the nickname in an attempt to sooth me; it didn't help much, but I was still thankful for his attempt._

" _Loki…" I began in a quiet gasp._

" _The bastard who lead the invasion?" Daisy asked for clarification._

_I couldn't help myself, I let out a whine; my instinct to protect my match fighting against the one that loved my sister._

" _He's my match!" I practically whined. "This is not like him. He's not this man. Something… something's very, very wrong!"_

_I wanted so much to go to him, to fight for him, save him… yet I knew I couldn't. What could I do for him? I had no way to help him. I couldn't fight the Avengers, nor convince them of what I knew to be right; even Loki himself wouldn't have recognized me in that moment. That knowledge hurt, deep inside._

" _We'll make it right." Raina assured me, like there was no doubt about it, like there had never been, or could be. "We'll find a way to help him."_

I didn't know it then, but Daisy spent the following week hacking everything and everyone until she had just enough to prove that something was definitely off with Loki (talking to himself, eyes changing color). Then she put it all together and sent it to Stark Tower, signing the note explaining the contents of the package as:  _the Sister of Winter_.

That was the first time we acknowledged what some people had begun calling us. The Sisters of Winter, because we were the sisters of the Winter Soldier. Who was a legend in and of itself. Even if most people were going crazy trying to understand how a legendary assassin had become a hero all of a sudden. I was sure the HYDRA bastards must be going ballistic over it all. Their greatest 'asset' turning into an actual superhero…

We had plans upon plans, contingencies upon contingencies. Even then, we knew it wouldn't be easy, but nothing worth it ever is. We trained like crazy for years, and when we decided it was time (more like when Raina told us it was time) we split. Raina called just enough attention to herself to get a small group interested in her; they didn't seem like much at first sight, but they were connected to HYDRA, and the best way for her to get in. Daisy had changed her name to Skye and joined a hacker group called the Rising Tide, in order to keep up with everything going on, and because Raina told us that doing so would call the attention of those who would get her to where she needed to be when it all came down. As for me, I took what was perhaps the most direct route of all (the most dangerous); James hated it, regardless of how many times Raina assured him I'd be alright, that it was the only way for me to be where I needed to be, he still came quite close to calling the whole thing off more than once. In the end, it was my choice. And thus I became an Agent of SHIELD…

Arianna Grayson, that was the name they knew me by. I was registered as an orphan who had supposedly run away from her last foster family, learned to live on her own. Red had even paid one of the favors he owed by spreading the rumor of me having been involved in a couple of his cases, back when he and Masha (back then known as Lizzie) were still working with the FBI, before they were double-crossed and Liz almost died (officially she was very much dead).

So SHIELD gave me a chance, I joined the Operations Academy. I knew that when I first arrived, my instructors expected me to walk away in a week at most, being unable to handle it. I surprised them all, and my reputation grew. I graduated in just a couple of years, and soon many older agents were interested in me, I was known as a genius, fluent in more than a dozen languages (and I was capable of imitating accents perfectly as needed), and I could fight. I didn't like guns much, but that was okay, my forte was in small knives and in hand to hand (jujitsu, aikido and tai-chi). By the time I was 23 (in 2015) I was assigned to the Triskellion in Washington DC.

That was the same year when Skye got 'picked up' by some top secret team; we'd no idea if they were really SHIELD, or secretly HYDRA. Still, that changed nothing, we had our missions, and we'd fulfill them. At least that's what I believed, until I got the message that changed everything:

" _They know. I'm safe. Will get in touch later."_

Well fuck. I had no idea what they knew exactly. Did they know about Daisy Johnson? About James, about Raina and I? About her being the Queen of the Inhumans? I couldn't begin to fathom her being truly safe under such circumstances. Also knew I couldn't tell James, who was liable to go ballistic if he found out. Since joining SHIELD I'd taken to sending him tips whenever I discovered someone that was likely to be HYDRA and, if the opportunity presented itself, he'd take care of them. It was our way to deal with the problem a piece at a time (or a head at a time, as the bastards were so fond of saying). Still, he wouldn't take it well if there was the slightest reason to believe Skye might be in danger. So I asked Carter for the day off, giving a mild excuse about not feeling well, and focused on getting in touch with the one person who would know how bad things were.

"She's safe." Were the first words Raina said to me the moment we met.

I'd taken the first train out of Washington and to New York, where she was staying for the time being (since the last base, in China, had gone up in flames back in the Spring).

We didn't bother with pleasantries, never had. Mainly because Raina simply didn't see a point to them, and I chose to follow her lead.

"What do they know exactly?" I demanded, still very worried about her.

"They know she's gifted, she was forced to use her gifts to save two members of her team." Raina's words really weren't putting me at ease, at all. "They're not HYDRA."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Raina nodded, made a pause and then added. "There is something about that team… they are pivotal. Their choices will make or break a lot of things..."

"Choices you cannot see." I deduce.

"I cannot see that which hasn't been decided yet."

"And they will not decide until the test is upon them."

I might not fully understand how her powers worked, but I knew just enough. Raina just nodded. Her attention was pulled away a moment later, and I couldn't help but follow her line of sight. We were sitting in a corner of a little cafe, across the street from Mt. Sinai's ER. I couldn't help but notice the young man (early 30's probably) in light blue scrubs, a bit over six feet tall, athletic build, light brown slightly messy hair. I knew exactly who he was: Lincoln Campbell. He was behind the one and only thing Raina had ever requested of the rest of us. She wanted us to save him. When we found him the man was a college dropout, full of anger issues he couldn't really understand and drowning in alcohol. He had also come close to wrapping his car around a telephone pole. Would have if Daisy hadn't used her gift to surreptitiously disable the vehicle before anything could happen.

It wasn't easy, intervening without being discovered, but we managed. We got him into rehab, and then made arrangements for him to get a scholarship to return to med-school. In another city so he might start a new life. Seemed he was doing well.

"Will you ever tell him?" I asked Raina quietly.

"No." She answered without hesitation.

Truth was, it wasn't the first time we had that particular exchange, and it probably wouldn't be the last either. They were a match, we both knew it, and yet Raina refused to do anything about it. He claimed it was because he would never be able to accept her, her true looks. Perhaps in another world… Truth was, Lincoln could have been an inhuman too, he was part of the lineage, but when we met him he just wasn't in the right place for him to go through terri-genesis, she wasn't sure he'd ever be. In another world the two of them had been a perfect match, partners, two of the Inhuman Queen's closest friends… that wasn't our world.

Our world was one where the Inhuman Queen lived in secret. She did her best to help her people, even as she regretted having very little to offer them. Where we were playing with fire, joining and infiltrating organizations with the hope that we might somehow manage to make things better. A world where we risked our lives every day, hoping it might be worth it in the end. Where I hoped I might live long enough to meet my match again, to have him remember me, remember our love… that was the world we lived in.

"It's better this way." Raina concluded.

I wasn't sure I agreed, but then again, it wasn't my choice to make. I had no choice to make on that front, not while my match remained a world away. The closest we'd come was when that mess in London had happened, in late Spring, though I had been with Carter on a mission in Argentina at the time.

Something else occurred to me right then, though I never got to ask the question.

"Soon." She murmured, not really looking at me. "The time's coming soon."

I nodded, just once. Then, after one final sip to my tea I took my bag and left the cafe. I needed to catch a train, make sure I was ready for work the next day. The visit was very short, but it had been worth it: my little sister was safe… didn't mean I wasn't going to ream her out for nearly giving me a stroke with that message!

It was almost funny, in a way. How alone I once was, yet no more. When I was six years old my father was killed, and with him gone, I had no more family left, I was totally alone in the world. Yet the same man who was (unwillingly) responsible for that, also saved my life (willingly) and not only that, he was also the cornerstone upon which my new family had been built. A family that might not be so by birth, but that was alright. It was like that old saying I'd read once in an old book, about phrases that had been misinterpreted through the years. My favorite was the part that went into the origins of the phrase "blood is thicker than water"; how most believed it was about family being more important than acquaintances or friends; when in fact it was the exact opposite. Perhaps not the acquaintances, but some friends (the kind of friends you risked life and limb with and for) could end up being more important that the family you were born to. In the end, it was family, perhaps not a traditional one, but still. Raina and Daisy were my sisters, James was my brother, and that was all that truly mattered.

**xXx Skye's POV xXx**

" _The hardest thing in this world… is to live in it."_

I could never remember who said that quote exactly, probably something I watched on TV when I was a child. Even back then I had no doubt about how true those words were; and I hadn't gone through even half of what I would in the following decade!

One of the Unwanted, that's what I was, what some people called me. I'd been an orphan for as long as I could remember, and not only that, but the kind of orphan that never stayed long in one place; I never spent more than two or three months with any given foster family or in any group home. They never wanted me. And then, when I was thirteen, someone decided that meant I was disposable, that no one would miss me if I were to disappear. And so I was sent, along with ten other children, to a secret facility in the middle of nowhere.

That place… it was hell, worst than any stories the nuns of St. Agnes might have told us. At first they trained us, like they were expecting us to become their little army… then, something seemed to change. Some had already died, those too weak to survive the insane training. But that day… that was the worst of all. When they locked us all in that windowless room and then dropped that blue and gray crystal through a hatch on the ceiling. When the thing broke… there was mist and dust, and suddenly there was something like rock covering us all…

I saw some of those around me turn to stone, which then broke into pieces. I was absolutely terrified. As the rock covered my mouth all I could think was that I was going to suffocate… or maybe I was going to fall into pieces as well. I was so beyond fear that I didn't even notice when I was no longer just shaking, but everything and everyone around began shaking with me.

Eight of us went into that room that day… until three of us came out. Forever changed.

Raina, she was fifteen (or at least she was when we first arrived to that place), had apparently been living mostly on the streets until a group found her, took her to the orphanage, supposedly to help her. Instead she found herself part of our group of Unwanted. The first time I saw her after the mist, she went straight for me. I was so shocked by her changed appearance, the long thorns covering her head, and the smaller ones on the backs of her hands, as well as parts of her face, neck, collarbone and arms (it almost looked like some very odd armor…) that I didn't move.

" _Daisy Johnson..." When the words crossed her lips they sounded odd, almost like a prayer._

" _What…?" I didn't understand, wasn't her name Raina?_

" _That's your name." She clarified calmly. "Daisy Xiuying Johnson, daughter of Calvin and Jiaying Johnson."_

" _How do you know that?" I couldn't help but demand._

" _Because I've seen it, I've seen you." Raina answered honestly._

That's how I learned about her Sight, the truest gift the terri-genesis had given her. It did not help when learning that I could make things shake… and JT was pyrokinetic.

Then there was Aria… she took us all by surprise. The way the Kraken's minions literally just dropped her on us like that. She was so small… and yet the way she acted, at times she seemed older than even JT (who was actually the eldest of us). She was gifted too, though it took us a while to understand how it worked exactly. The way she stood up against our 'trainers', I wasn't sure if she was being incredibly brave or terribly stupid. And then Raina had that vision, and those words:  _"You're getting us out."_  I was so tired, so absolute exhausted I wasn't even sure if it was worth it to feel hope, and yet there it was, without me being able to quite help it.

Almost a month later we were out. As it turned out, the Kraken had been so confident in his own power, after everything he'd done in the past, to my own mother (I did not find out that part until later on though, made me regret not ending the bastard's life myself); it never occurred to him that one day his 'experiments' might fight back. Might actually win.

We could have never done it without James, of course not. We did fight back ourselves too though. Seeing Aria that day… I realized that what she'd revealed to our 'trainers' thus far was practically nothing compared to what she was capable of. It was obvious she didn't like it, hurting others, and she drew the line at outright killing. But she didn't flinch back when James, or one of us did it. Never saw us differently for wanting revenge.

JT took off the moment we were free; it didn't surprise me, nor the fact that Raina said we'd never be seeing him again. I could only hope that'd be his choice and not because something bad happened to him. Us sticking around… it wasn't a conscious choice at first. I just… we felt safe with them, with James and Aria, and they didn't seem to mind. James was clearly surprised, but even then he effortlessly extended his protection over to us. It felt right. For the first time in my life I had a family…

And then HYDRA went and tried to take it away… again. Deciding they needed to be the ones to go, permanently, it really wasn't a hard decision to make. Not for me (not for any of us). Training to fight (hand to hand, weapons and gifts), when it was something we were choosing to do, proved to be easier than I ever imagined possible. We each had our strengths: Aria was agile, never where you expected her to be, and quite willing to let her opponent tire out, only to strike when they least expected it. Raina took advantage of her Sight to predict her opponents' moves, which meant she pretty much won the fights before even going into them; and if she had the slightest inkling that she might not win she was willing to cheat. I was strong, and my gift allowed me to put a little something extra when I considered it necessary, and to shield myself too. All in all, we were good.

We first met Gordon a few days after leaving the Kraken's facility. We were still recovering and after seeing the place where we'd been, where Aria had been, James was on such a hair trigger that the moment Gordon popped in James almost tore his head off with his metal arm. It was probably a good thing that Gordon could teleport. And that he respected James's desire to protect us all, as he didn't take the reaction personally.

It was Gordon who told us everything about inhumans, terri-genesis, the Kree, Afterlife. About my parents, their deaths, and the consequences that had had. The fact that the inhumans had lost their queen and their safe haven in a matter of days, and even after so many years they still wandered, with no protection, no true home. I wanted to help them, even if for the longest time I had no idea how.

It was Aria's idea in the end. We still had to keep moving, but we decided to do more than just move from city to city, do odd jobs and train in our free time. We also began looking for gifted (my main focus was on inhumans, but we were willing to help anyone who needed us), we aided them as much as possible. Using my growing hacker skills I'd taken possession of all the Kraken's assets, and then kept doing the same with those of other HYDRA lackeys that James 'dealt with' through the years. We used that money to set up safe-houses across the country. Places not just for us, but also for the gifted who had nowhere to go, no one to trust.

That was probably how our fame began. Not just as the Sisters of Winter; but I knew some had also begun to acknowledge me as the future Queen of the Inhumans… wasn't sure how I felt about that. I wasn't ready for that kind of responsibility, wasn't sure I'd ever be and yet… and yet my people deserved the kind of security they'd had with my mother, and I was willing to go great lengths to give it to them.

By the time 2012 came around, with the freakish aliens and the heroes that defeated them (the Avengers) we were mostly ready. Aria, going by the name of Arianna Grayson, had finished the SHIELD Ops Academy with flying colors and was set to begin working officially as an Agent a few days later; Raina was waiting for her in, which she claimed was coming; while I'd found my own in with the Rising Tide for the time being.

Of course that was after doing my good deed of the year by making sure someone (the Avengers, to be more precise) would realize that something was very wrong with my sister's match (that being Loki) and he needed help, rather than punishment. It worked (of course, if that had failed I'm sure we could have gotten to him and gotten him out before they ever took him off planet… but thankfully that wasn't necessary).

Matches were a messy business, as far as I was concerned. There was Arianna with Loki; and boy was there some insane history between them. Past lives (or life, at least one), marriage, daughter, promises of eternal love, the whole she-bang. The problem? He didn't remember her. Then there were Raina and Lincoln… they were a whole other mess I'd long since decided not to get involved with, at all. Lincoln might technically be a potential inhuman, but as long as he did not go through terri-genesis he wasn't my business. Of course I never expected to one day meet mine, or how much of a mess we'd end up being (probably should have, though, considering what my sisters were already going through).

When Grant and I first met it was a disaster of near-epic proportions. It was early 2013, I was in Singapore (with some help from Gordon) in my 'sister' persona (which meant a long black wig, emo clothes and either speaking Chinese, or English with a Chinese accent, I also went by Daisy then, rather than Skye). I was meeting with a group of inhumans who were trying to get out of there since rumors had started that the government might approve a registration act soon. While Gordon would be the one to actually get them out of the country, the leader of the group had insisted on meeting me. I knew there was a chance it might be a trap, but I just couldn't ignore my people calling for me, so Gordon and I agreed on signals for him to pick us up, one in case of emergency; the other in case things went so much to hell that I ended needing backup (meaning my brother and possibly my sisters).

It was a trap, as it turned out… or, some might say, half a trap. The inhuman who had called us, Haziq, he had serious issues. Apparently some relative of his had made him go through terri-genesis, because they were supposed to be a proud lineage and all that… but the guy had bought into all the anti-gifted propaganda several governments had been spouting since the late nineties. It had made it so the guy had so much self-loathing even I could pick up on it, and I wasn't an empath. Also, he somehow believed he was doing a service to the world by arranging for not only me, but those who'd taken the risk and trusted him, to be caught.

I called Gordon to get the innocents, the ones actually trying to get out of the country, while making sure that neither Haziq, nor any of the 'men-in-black' kind of men arriving would be able to get them. It turned into a pretty bizarre version of catch-me-if-you-can. I was winning.

A signal from Gordon right before he popped away with the last two innocents (a pair of children not even ten years old) warned me that he wouldn't be coming back. He'd reached his limit on the number of long-distance teleports he could do; which meant I'd have to find my way out. That was alright, I could do it.

With quick, swift motions I took off my jacket, turned it inside out and put it on again (to change the color). Pulled on my ankle boots so they reached all the way to my knees and then pulled my hair (or wig) out of the twist I'd pulled it into, adding a beanie to change the look just enough. I managed to evade two patrols, when things got serious. SHIELD (or HYDRA, whichever) had just arrived. And they had a thermal detector; which meant that they knew who I was and about my power (the fact that altering vibrations also changed the temperature). So I focused on locking down my powers as much as I could as I did my best to slip away undetected.

I had almost reached the limits of the cordoned area, when something called my attention from the corner of my eye. It was Haziq, I wasn't paying too much attention, but apparently he was yelling something about the government not keeping up their part of the deal? Like they had promised to 'save him' if he betrayed us. As if the change he'd gone through could be undone. Didn't he understand some things one just couldn't come back from? We were what we were (inhuman) and he also was what he was (a traitor). The moment he understood, for good, that they weren't going to help him, that they'd never intended to; he went nuts.

As it turned out, Haziq's ability was to make things (and people) explode. It was… shocking, and horrifying, and downright sickening. He killed half a dozen men before anyone could do a thing. And even when they did their best to move against him… apparently they had orders to capture, rather than kill, and none of them really had the resources to take an inhuman with such power down. I could see, with terrible, perfect, clarity the moment he turned to the next agent. He was younger, one of the youngest there, his hair was a dark brown, and I couldn't help but notice that he was wearing a brown leather jacket over the tactical clothes. My chocolate brown eyes met his (the same amber-brown of whiskey) for just a moment… I was moving before I was fully aware of it. Haziq went flying to a side, losing focus on his power before he could kill anyone else. Of course, my own actions meant that I'd been noticed, all attention turned to me. I didn't even give them the time to turn their weapons my way, I spun around and ran.

Two blocks later I found myself surrounded by high-rises. I didn't even have to think about it as I threw a wave of my power straight up, shattering glass all around, letting it fall on the vehicles pursuing me; hopefully no one would die, though I wasn't too concerned in the end. If it came to them or me, I'd always choose to save myself (which did not explain why exactly I'd risked my life so save one of those very same agents… but still, I chose not to focus on that part).

I managed to run half a dozen blocks more, when something completely unexpected happened. I knew there were still vehicles behind me. The glass might have delayed them, but it wouldn't stop them forever. What I wasn't expecting was the bike approaching me, and from a different street. I was forced to stop running as it came to a halt right in front of me.

_The first thing I noticed was the brown leather jacket, the second the whiskey eyes staring holes at me through the helmet._

" _Get on!" He yelled, over the roar of the bike._

" _What…?!" I was taken so completely by surprise I had no idea what to do._

" _Unless you want those guys to catch you and do a lot worse than kill you get on the freaking bike!" He yelled at me._

_That certainly got me going. I jumped behind him, right as one of the black vans rounded a corner at great speeds, just two blocks away from us. It never reached us as, with a kick, we were in the move but a fraction of a second later. Almost carelessly I sent a wave of my power to the street just behind us. It wouldn't do too much, damage the asphalt, hopefully crack it just enough to either force the van to stop, or at least make things a bit harder for them._

" _Hold on!" He ordered as he took a turn so fast we were almost parallel with the street for a moment there._

_I did as told._

We made it to some dock and onto a small boat I was quite sure was used for contraband, right as it was taking off. I did not care about such details, only that it was taking us out. I had no idea how exactly he managed to convince them to take us, but he did.

It took us somewhere between fourteen and sixteen hours to make it to Jakarta; couldn't be sure, as I spent more than half the trip sleeping, and the other half singing whatever piece of song came through my head. It was until near the end of the trip that I finally dared face my rescuer.

" _Why?" When he just stared at me I was forced to clarify. "Why did you save me?"_

" _You saved me first." He pointed out. "I was just evening the score."_

" _You were with them, one of them… one of those who wants to use us, to imprison us, torture us… own us."_

" _And still you saved me." He made a pause before adding, more quietly. "I am who I am, and I do the things I do, to pay a debt I owe. I owe my loyalty to someone who's done much for me but… what they wanted to do to you, but especially to those children… I couldn't be a part of that. I never could."_

" _In the name of my people. Thank you."_

" _Your people…?"_

" _I suppose we never did get the chance to introduce ourselves." My tone turned impish as I announced: "Daisy Johnson, Queen of the Inhumans."_

" _Queen…?! That's impossible. SHIELD would know…"_

" _My people have spent more than twenty years marginalized, fighting to survive in the shadows. Our whole way of life was destroyed years ago, our Queen and our Sanctuary taken from us."_

" _But you just said…"_

" _She was my mother. I came into my inheritance late. But now I'm doing my best to make things right. I will protect my people. And you must know, that's likely to put us at opposite sides of the board. The people whose orders you follow… they will never allow us to live freely."_

" _No, they won't." He seemed to make a sudden decision. "I will be no part of that. But I will not betray them, either."_

" _Not an easy choice to make." I admitted. "And you must know, that won't last forever. Sooner or later, you will have to choose."_

_It's not like I was expecting him to choose me, that would have been ridiculous, and yet… and yet we both knew life would be much easier if we eliminated the other. Even then, neither of us tried._

_A whistle announced our arrival to our destination. I got on my feet without a word, instinctively knowing our truce was over, it was time we each went our own way. It took me completely by surprise when he called to me, right as I was about to step off the boat._

" _Grant Ward." He announced. "My name, in case you were interested."_

Grant Ward… I never forgot his name, or his eyes. It (he) still took me completely by surprise when we met again in LA almost two years later.

He didn't recognize me, of course he didn't. My hair was honey brown, wavy and I wasn't wearing emo clothes (I actually favored knee-length skirts or jeans, tops and sometimes vests and ankle boots). He didn't know me, but I certainly knew him.

It was pretty much his fault that I couldn't help but see the whole team as HYDRA minions at first. And by that time we'd all learned the difference between SHIELD and HYDRA. I had no reason to think otherwise, after all, Ward was HYDRA, and he was part of the team… whose leader was a man that was legally dead! Also, Gordon remembered May, and what had happened in Bahrain, and while he didn't exactly blame her… that coupled with her attitude towards me didn't help matters any.

And then they believed in me. When that whole mess with Chan, and Miles, the Rising Tide and Centipede took place… the team believed in me. Like no one other than James and my sisters ever had. (Also, Raina had almost had to break her cover and in the end I had to secretly call Gordon, but we did manage to save Chan) So I began trusting them. Told them a little about myself, they already knew I could fight (that secret came out pretty fast, my third mission in, the second officially with the team, in Malta); they learned about my time in the foster system, and that I'd 'escaped', that there were those I called family, and whom I loved more than anyone else. What they didn't know was who exactly my siblings were, about my condition as gifted, or my time in the Kraken's labs.

Then they found out I was gifted. Aria gave me a verbal lashing for the ages after that one. Then again, sending her a text saying nothing more than: ' _They know. I'm safe. Will get in touch later._ ' probably wasn't the best idea. Still, I was a bit busy, trying to finish a program that would allow me to have a private conversation with the team, on the Bus, without there being any record of it. Also, I had no idea how to even begin to explain to her that I was going to reveal (most of) my secrets to a group comprised of SHIELD Agents (while they might not be exactly evil, we didn't much trust them in general, either) and at least one confirmed HYDRA minion. In the end I still didn't tell her the last one.

While I wouldn't know if they understood, I did believe that they accepted me. They didn't flinch away from me for my status as a gifted. Also, as AC revealed later on to me (after asking for permission to do so) his lover was gifted too, a mutant… she was also the Queen of Hackers (for obvious reasons I focused more on that part): Darcy Lewis, Wallflower, TaserQueen… I almost squealed at the prospect of some day hopefully meeting my role-model.

That was also, perhaps, the first time I wondered if we might not be going about it the wrong way. James, Raina, Aria and I were so prepared to do battle to bring down HYDRA… we had gifted allies across the country, and in several key places around the world, but had never even tried to actually find allies inside SHIELD itself, believing it to be pointless. Even after seeing that SHIELD and HYDRA were not the same, it just had never occurred to us. And yet, being with the team, I just couldn't fathom them agreeing with the status quo if they knew what was going on… then again, I couldn't imagine Robot being HYDRA, yet I knew that's exactly what he was, what he'd been long before we'd both joined that team.

Grant Ward made things so much harder… On the one hand, he was HYDRA, I knew that, had known it from the start; which made him my enemy (something that had been well established even when we were still in Indonesia!). On the other hand… he'd saved my life, back then, and again, time after time, and not just mine, but all of us in the team. He was part of the team and just like I couldn't imagine seeing AC, FitzSimmons or even May as an enemy, I was having trouble seeing him as such.

When AC was kidnapped, but especially when I found out exactly who kidnapped him, I almost went ballistic. The only silver-lining in that particular thunder-cloud was that Raina sent me a coded message with the exact location, and made sure to stall the others long enough that, aside from being drugged, nothing happened to AC. Also, she made sure to send Mike's family to one of our safe-houses when HYDRA minions in SHIELD gave them up to Centipede. Mike himself was saved by none other than AC's lover (another person who was supposed to be dead).

Using dropping points James then sent Mike a package, a phone that included a video recorded by his son, sister and niece, where they explained they were safe. It also had a blocked contact saved, so Mike could get in touch with them (James had obviously known the video wouldn't be enough) the whole thing had been encoded to the best of all our abilities (we had several such phones, which we tended to give to our most valuable contacts).

Life got even more insane after that. With us going after Centipede, even as we tried to discover why exactly AC had been kidnapped, how they'd gotten their hands on Mike's family (I knew that one but couldn't exactly share with the class…), only to then lose them. In those days I kept remembering that quote from some old tv-show:  _The hardest thing to do in this world… is to live in it._  And I just knew it was only going to get harder…

**xXx 3rd Person POV xXx**

If someone were to ask Skye when it all went to hell, she'd say that it was in that mission to Italy, when Quinn tried to kill her and she ended killing him instead. If asked, Arianna would say that it happened when Nick Fury finally sat up and took notice about everything that was wrong with SHIELD (starting with Project Insight and ending with Alexander-freaking-Pierce). As for Raina, she would tell them all that things went to hell long before any of them were even born!

In Washington Arianna was so stressed out she was sure people were beginning to pick up on it. Ever since Carter had been sent on that solo mission to spy on Steve Rogers, Arianna had been left to work in an office in the Triskellion. She hated it, sensing all those people, so many of whom had such darkness inside them that she couldn't help but feel it… it all came to a head when the ringing of her phone woke her up in the middle of the night in early May of 2016. It was a loud and incredibly obnoxious ringtone, rather than the piano scales, wind-chimes and flute notes that she favored most of the time. That was on purpose, the sound was enough to wake her up completely in less than five seconds; it also announced that the call came from Raina. And her Seer sister calling in the middle of the night was enough to raise all kind of red flags.

It was even worse than she expected, Arianna didn't even get the chance to say hello before Raina was listing an address and telling her to be there in her 'sister persona' in less than an hour. Aria didn't question anything. She was already on her feet before the call even disconnected. Her 'sister persona' consisted of a platinum blonde wig with the hair combed in pigtails, a semi-translucent top, short dark skirt and heels; she also adopted a British accent when talking.

She got to the specified address in her Vespa, making sure to leave it hidden in some brush nearby before entering what she assumed to be some long-forgotten base. She was actually very disappointed when she managed to get deep into the base without anyone noticing her presence. She in fact found Nick Fury, unconscious (and from what she could tell, alive by little more than a miracle) and was halfway through healing him before she was found out.

"Step away from him!" Maria Hill demanded, in her coldest voice. "Now!"

"I won't do that." Aria answered evenly. "And if you even think about drawing your weapon agent, you will force me to defend myself, which will waste both of our times, and energy, both of which are better used in making sure your boss gets better all the sooner."

"She's healing him…" The one who seemed to be the doctor of the facility breathed out in shock.

"That's impossible." Hill shook her head. "No one possess such power!"

"Why? Because you didn't know it?" Aria scoffed. "SHIELD also believes psychics to be legend, and seers myth, doesn't stop them from existing either. And I know because I've met them. You haven't because most gifted know better than to let people from your… organization get so much as an inkling they exist. Such revelations haven't gone well in the past."

"And yet here you are..." Were the first words to come from Fury's mouth as he woke up.

"And yet here I am." Aria agreed. "At the insistence of someone I respect. And because I believe, at least for the time being, we want the same thing."

"And that is?" Hill still wasn't buying it.

"HYDRA gone." Arianna declared, resolute.

That certainly made them all stop and take notice.

They talked for a while. Aria did not tell them who she was in her 'day life', and they knew better than to ask. She was sure at least one of them had deduced she was one of the Sisters of Winter, but that wasn't mentioned either. It was approaching dawn when Aria decided it was time to take her leave. She still had to get to the office before someone took notice of her (or rather her absence, it wouldn't have been good either way).

"When you need to get in, call this number, and I'll let you in." Aria stated, just before taking off, giving them the number of her encoded phone (the one SHIELD didn't know of).

They did not ask her how she'd do that, Aria wondered if they might suspect. It changed nothing though. At least things were happening, finally. Hopefully they'd be over fast, and then she and her siblings could finally get on with their lives, in peace.

**xXx**

Somewhere in the North Atlantic Skye was cursing up a storm. Things had escalated, and not in a good way; she was quite sure that it had all started in Italy. That freaking mission! She'd known it was a bad idea, going in on her own (after giving Fitz an important but safe enough task); yet her pride had been too great. She wanted to get Quinn, needed to, after everything the bastard had done, to Dr. Hall, but especially to Donnie… that mess had hit way too close for the (secret) Queen of the Inhumans, the memory of her time in the Kraken's Lab…

So she'd gone into Quinn's villa on her own. Systematically taking down everyone she found with her ICER (those guns were pure-genius and she was going to have to convince FitzSimmons to make one for her sister, it might just be the kind of gun she was willing to wield). She was doing good, if she said so herself, until Quinn's personal bodyguard (or something) managed to catch her completely by surprise when she got to the cellar. Deprived of her gun, she was forced to listen to Quinn's overly dramatic villainous speech (she hated those, had heard one too many from all the 'men in black' who believed they'd finally be the ones to take down the Queen of the Inhumans… not to mention those after her 'just' for being one of the Sisters). The second surprise came when, instead of ordering her bodyguard to get rid of her, Quinn aimed a gun at her himself (she so hadn't seen that one coming).

Skye's actions from that point on were completely instinctive: with a wave from one hand the gun in Quinn's hands fell into pieces; before the last one touched the ground she was already using her other hand to send the bodyguard flying, making sure he'd crash against the brick wall hard enough to knock him out. In the time it took for that to happen Quinn was already throwing himself against her. Skye honestly had no idea what he thought he was doing, the gun was lying in pieces at his feet, and he really didn't look like the kind of man who could kill with his bare hands… that didn't change a thing, not really. In the end her instincts were stronger than her, the moment Quinn threw himself at her, Skye's gift rose to protect her. Quinn was dead long before his body hit the floor, blood pooling beneath him very fast.

One look at him told Skye what exactly she'd just done: she'd vibrated him, hard and sudden enough to make something inside him burst. Quinn's body looked alright, except for how he was bleeding from practically every single orifice; but she was sure that if someone were to do an autopsy on him… it wouldn't be pretty. The one and only time she'd used her powers like that before was on the very night they'd escaped the Lab, on a minion who'd been in the process of strangling Raina to death when she found them. Daisy hadn't even stopped to think then, her desire to protect her sister so strong… nothing could have stopped her. That one had been worse; much worse. She'd never forget it; had promised herself not to use her power in such a way again. It had given her nightmares, made her fear herself for a long time, and now…

Skye couldn't help but being sick right then. The realization of what she'd just done, and not just that, for the fact that she couldn't bring herself to honestly regret it. Quinn had been a monster, the worst kind of monster; and chances were that if he hadn't died, he'd have found a way to hurt even more people before the end. Skye hated that she was able to hurt another so much, so easily; yet she couldn't regret having done it to someone like Quinn.

Her team found her about a quarter of an hour later. Crouched by the cellar's door, shaking; trying to come to terms with what and who she was…

Skye was terrified, and it wasn't even just what she'd done, that part she could more or less deal with. It wasn't like she was going to let herself die! (Though she'd have preferred it if one of her sisters were around, to help her through it). She was afraid of how the team would react, but while May and AC sent a few odd looks her way, Ward and FitzSimmons seemed to just be so absolutely relieved that she was alright… she was thankful for that.

Of course, the fact that less than a week later they were up to their ears in trouble with Centipede Soldiers and the Clairvoyant might also have given them a reason to put Italy behind and focus on the matter at hand. Going against those Soldiers… Skye was so glad they'd managed to save Mike from such a fate, and his family; at the same time she couldn't help but feel terrible for the men going against them, the ones they hadn't been able to save, and their own families. She also couldn't help but be reminded of her own brother and his status as the Winter Soldier.

Ward killing the alleged Clairvoyant didn't surprise, or affect Skye. If she was honest with herself she knew she'd have done the same if that man had ever made such threats against those she cared for. Knew AC and May were having a hard time dealing with it… but then again, they liked seeing things in black and white most of the time, the Inhuman Queen knew better (also, perhaps being half-raised by a not-so-former assassin made her biased…).

Discovering that the Clarivoyant was still alive wasn't that much of a surprise, nor was the fact that he was a SHIELD Agent (more like HYDRA, clearly, but the point remained). May's apparent betrayal of the team… that was one thing they definitely did not see coming. Less than an hour later, with May 'iced' in the cell with Ward and the rest of them trying to find out what exactly was going on, who was towing the Bus, how and why… even as they get an SOS from Ward's old SO Agent Garrett, requesting help as a set of drones are after him. Skye had to admit she hadn't seem any of that coming.

For a minute or so Skye had no idea what to do. Everything seemed to be going to hell in a hand-basket so fast she hadn't the slightest idea how to salvage anything! Fitz and AC were rerouting some things in order to be able to fire at the drones and help Garrett; May and Ward were in the cell, with none other than Simmons keeping an eye on them, while Mike had been sent to the cockpit to try and get back control of the Bus; while Skye had been given the task to find out why the hell they couldn't get in touch with anyone at the HUB, or at any other SHIELD base for that matter (they'd been on their way to the Triskellion earlier, in fact). Then her phone rang.

It wasn't her usual phone, the one everyone in the team had seen her use; and the ringtone wasn't any of the generic ones she kept on her 'public phone'. No, the tone was actually drums, low and haunting; the moment her mind made the connection who that ringtone belonged to, Skye reacted automatically, pulling away from her laptop to take the call.

"What's going on?! … I'm in the middle of something here. Everything's going to hell and… of course you know, why am I not surprised? …" Her voice turned quieter, somber, as she heard the news a part of her had already known were coming. "I see… Yes, I'm ready." No, she wasn't, not really, everything was insane! But she wouldn't fail her siblings. "Raina… I…" Of course her sister knew what was on her mind before she even said it, or rather who… "You want me to what?! But… Yeah, I will… Thank you sis."

Skye snapped the phone closed, raising her eyes to see Simmons staring at her.

"Skye… what was that?" The scientist asked her, hesitantly.

Of course, because things weren't messy enough already… Skye decided to be as honest as she could, without giving away too much.

"That was one of my sisters." The hacker explained. "Remember I told you about them?"

"They're gifted, like you." Simmons nodded.

"Not the same gift, but yes. We all have abilities. Raina… she… I guess you can say she sees the future, to a point."

"Did she see something about us?"

"Something like that." Skye half-smiled. "I need to do something now, and you're not going to understand, but I need you to trust me okay? Can you trust me Simmons?"

"I… ah… okay." Simmons hesitated, but then straightened up and nodded. "I trust you Skye."

The Inhuman Queen couldn't help but notice how important that was, she was so thankful to Simmons in that moment, and could only hope that what was coming next wouldn't ruin it all.

When Skye then explained that she needed to go into the cell Simmons really didn't like that, that much was obvious and yet… and yet she trusted Skye, and so she opened the door, then closed it behind the younger woman.

May and Ward blinked as they stared at her, clearly neither of them had been expecting to see her, though they could obviously see the tension in her whole body as she stood right there, just inside the room, immobile.

"Skye…?" Ward began, seemingly not knowing what else to say.

For a moment longer Skye did nothing, she could still remember what Raina had told her to do, she still thought it was absolutely insane. Singing was Aria's thing not hers! And yet… her sister had never failed her, and Daisy had never failed to trust her so… she would trust. Before Ward (or May for that matter) got a chance to say or ask anything else, or someone from the outside tried to interrupt her, Skye straightened up, taking a deep, cleansing breath and began singing:

"There's two sides to every story

But I don't know how this one ends

You want fire and you want glory

But there's a struggle that lies within"

"There's a war in my head and I don't understand

How we ended up here

There's a tear in my heart where your lies left a mark

And now nothing is clear"

"Whose side are you on?

Whose side are you on?

War lines have been drawn

Whose side are you on?

Whose side are you on?"

The moment Skye began singing May actually opened her mouth, probably to say something scathing and yet… just a moment later she closed it again. She had no idea what it was exactly, but something in Skye, in her voice, her song, just called to her in that moment. Skye might not have been her sister, her power might not have been in her voice, but sometimes… sometimes power was unnecessary, sometimes the strength, the voice, the feeling were more than enough.

Ward… Grant… he just couldn't take his eyes away from Skye. Something in her was just calling to him. Beyond her song, beyond those words (which were already resonating very strongly with him), the way she was staring at him; the way her chocolate brown eyes stared straight into his whiskey amber ones… He had never noticed how beautiful her eyes were, how big, and deep, and warm… and he knew he'd seen those eyes before; once, years prior, in South Asia…

"Light and dark are intertwining

Standing here face to face

Betrayal burns and there's no hiding

It cuts deeper than a razor blade"

"There's a war in my head and I don't understand

How we ended up here

There's a tear in my heart where your lies left a mark

And now nothing is clear"

"Whose side are you on?

Whose side are you on?

War lines have been drawn

Whose side are you on?"

"Whose side are you on?"

Grant's eyes opened very wide as it all clicked into place. He couldn't believe he hadn't made the connection before, not even when he saw her use her gift. It was so obvious right then.

The song came to a close, and Skye said nothing else. She just stood there, staring straight at him, the last line echoing through the room. Grant didn't stop to think about it, he didn't have to. Instead he just stood and, looking straight at her, gave his answer:

"Yours."


	2. Songstress, Angel, Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! With the second and final part of this fic. I hope you'll all like it. I certainly enjoyed writing it, it was a new take on a lot of things.
> 
> The songs for this chapter are: Invincible as sung by Ruelle, and Rise as sung by Abigail Duhon (yes, in the main timeline I used Katy Perry's version, because I think that's how Skye would have sung it; this time, this time it's all Nightingale).
> 
> Also, IMPORTANT. I'm a bit ahead, though I'll continue taking my time with the posting. But one question, with a bit of background... I've become a bit of a fan of Teen Wolf recently; not so much the series, as the fanfics, particularly the Sterek fics (because, they're hugely different, the series from the fics themselves). I've been wondering if anyone would be interested in me writing a fic with a bit of a crossover with Teen Wolf. Again, it'd be very different from the series because a) like I said, the fics I've been reading divert a lot from canon; and b) two certain someones would drop in and change things enough that a lot from the series wouldn't happen. Still, I've enough doubts concerning the whole endeavour that if I don't get at least a bit of interest in that particular AU I won't write it (also, if you'd like me to do do anything specific for it, this is the time to ask for it).
> 
> So, that's that, now on with the story!

**A Songstress, an Angel and a Queen**

Chains are as strong as their weakest link, and links as strong as the whole chain.

**xXx 3** **rd** **Person POV xXx**

They were met by several pairs of eyes as they stepped out of the containment room. Coulson looked like he was about to snap at her, yet Skye's attention wasn't on him, but on the man just a step behind him: Garrett. Skye was waving a hand, sending the man flying back, his head banging hard against a wall, knocking him out, before anyone had the chance to say a word.

"What the hell…?!" Several of them cried out.

Though perhaps the one who surprised them all was Ward:

"You didn't have to do that, you know?" He asked her quietly. "You didn't have to test me."

"Actually I did have to do that, and testing you was only half the reason for it." The Inhuman announced evenly. "I needed to know that you wouldn't turn against me…"

"I told you I chose your side." The Specialist reminded her.

"You did, and I believe you." She nodded. "I believe you could choose me over an organization. Wasn't so sure if you'd choose me over him, over your family."

"You wouldn't choose me over yours." He nodded in understanding.

"No." It was nothing against him, just how things were, and he respected that.

"I understand." And he definitely did. "But see, the difference here is that you love your siblings. You'd do anything for them, as they would for you. John and I… we're not like that."

"No, you're not." She was beginning to understand that, and Skye wasn't sure if she was glad (it meant Grant was really on her side) or sad (because he didn't have someone in her corner, like she did with James and her sisters).

"What was the other half of the reason?" Grant asked next, curious.

"It is happening, now." Skye answered, looking straight at him.

The specialist blanched. He didn't need her to clarify, he knew exactly what she meant; he also didn't need to ask her if she was sure, had no doubt her sources must be good. Which meant that things were about to go nuts… or perhaps, judging by the way everyone was still staring at them, they already were.

"Skye!" Coulson called in his most authoritative voice. "I demand an explanation!"

"I will give it to you." The hacker nodded. "But I'm warning you AC, you're not going to like it."

He really didn't. A lot of it they already knew: about Skye's time in the system, that she'd been trained, even that she'd been in a Lab lead by someone called Kraken, been experimented on for being gifted, for being an inhuman… she'd even told them about meeting her siblings there. What they did not know was about her being actually the Queen of the Inhumans, about having met Ward in Singapore years prior (though even he hadn't known that one, hadn't recognized her) and more importantly: about HYDRA.

They didn't want to believe, they really didn't. And then Grant did the one thing Skye never expected him to… he revealed himself to prove them it was true.

May and Peterson moved fast, instinctively, drawing their guns and pointing them. Ward, clearly having expected that, simply raised both hands in resignation. Skye though, she was faster, and she wasn't up for any more stand-offs, with two flicks of her wrists the guns fell into pieces. It was a simple thing, but enough to show everyone just who had the most power in the room. It wasn't something Skye enjoyed for the most part, she never had. She didn't claim her Queenship for the power, but to help; it was exactly the same in that moment.

"I don't have time for us to fight." She stated in her most no-nonsense tone. "You can choose to trust us, or not. That's up to you. But we have things to do, places to be."

"Us…?" Fitz repeated. "Since when are you an 'us'?"

"He's a bloody traitor!" Simmons cried out, her British accent heavy in that moment.

"Because he chose me." Skye answered, as if it should have been the most obvious thing in the world… and, for her at least, it was.

"What are you planning?" AC inquired, curious.

"One of my sisters called me." Skye answered honestly. "HYDRA has decided to reveal itself. Which means that it's time for us to do the same." She paused, then clarified. "And with that I mean my siblings and I." She exhaled. "If HYDRA wins, actually wins, we will never be free. As long as it exists, we will never be able to truly be at peace so… they have to go. For good."

No one seemed to know quite what to say to that. May was the first to speak.

"Where? When?" She wanted more details.

"Washington D.C." Skye told her calmly. "I need to be at the Triskellion by tomorrow."

Which wasn't going to be easy, considering that the Bus was still being towed towards the Hub and she hadn't the slightest idea about they were going to change that. She could call Gordon… but they were so high in the air, and still moving, it would be dangerous, and she wasn't going to have him risk his life unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Then that's where we'll go." Coulson decided.

Skye froze. Much as she might not admit it, she had not seen that one coming. Yes, she cared for Coulson, saw him as family, the closest thing she'd ever had to a father… yet she'd been so sure that once he learned the truth he wouldn't forgive her.

"I've trusted you this far." AC elaborated, his voice turning very quiet as he added. "I'm on your side Skye."

"We're on your side." FitzSimmons confirmed in unison.

Clearly, they'd all heard Skye's song. And that reminded her of something else:

"Daisy." She murmured very, very softly. "My name is Daisy Xiuying Johnson."

It was Grant's idea to take the quinjet Garret had arrived on, and use it to fly to Washington, leaving the Bus to whoever was towing it. Garrett himself they iced several times over before leaving him trussed up in the containment room; along with a file detailing as many crimes as Ward was aware of.

As they flew towards their destination, Mike and Melinda in the cockpit, handling the flight itself, while the rest of them sat in the back, doing their best to rest for the battle they knew they would be dropping onto. And Daisy… she could only smile. She knew it wasn't over just yet; no, the worst was yet to come in fact and yet… and yet so much had happened already, and she still had everyone she cared for right by her side… in that moment she couldn't help but believe that, somehow, everything would turn out just perfect.

**xXx**

Ever since the whole thing had begun (with what was supposed to be a fairly normal mission to recover a ship from pirates) Steve Rogers had found himself in a position to be constantly surprised (and mostly not in a good way). First there was Natasha, not being where she needed to be during the mission, because instead she was fulfilling a secondary assignment from Fury, one Steve had known nothing about! Then there was that odd conversation with Fury, and the one with Pierce, and the man who'd then tried to kill him; who had then gone and killed Nick! Except of course Nick Fury somehow wasn't dead, as they found out when Hill got him, Natasha and their new ally (and his running partner) Sam Wilson to some old half-abandoned based; after almost being killed by the STRIKE Team (their own allies!) and a couple of men that Steve was quite sure were supersoldiers in their own right! And of course then there was HYDRA… that was one hit Steve hadn't yet been able to recover from (he wasn't sure he ever would). By the time Darcy Lewis made his appearance in that very secret base Steve couldn't gather the energy to even be surprised anymore. It's not like he was close to the woman or had ever been, but he'd seen her often enough back when he'd still been living in NY and spending a good amount of time in the Tower, with the Avengers. Darcy Lewis was as good as a sister to Jane Foster, the Asgardian brothers considered her as good as family as well, Tony had claimed her as a daughter at some point and she was first Phil's assistant and later on his partner. In fact, both of them had disappeared together, being declared dead shortly afterwards… Rogers wondered if Coulson would be making a re-appearance too. At that point, it wouldn't have surprised him…

It was Darcy who got them into the Triskellion the following morning. As he stood before the microphone, trying to choose the right words to get his message across, the man known as Captain America could only pray that, somehow, they'd make it to the other side, and that not too many innocent people would die for the mess he was about to start…

"Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days, some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

In the Control Room Arianna tensed up the moment she sensed Brock Rumlow enter. For years she'd had to force herself not to cringe whenever the man was near. There was just such darkness in him, in his aura, she could barely stand it. But it wasn't time… not just yet. She waited, only half listening as the brave tech refused to launch the helicarriers, as Carter kicked off the stand-off they'd all known was coming and then…

"You picked the wrong side, Agent." Rumlow practically snarled as he pressed his gun against the back of the trembling tech's head.

"Depends on where you're standing." Carter… Sharon stated evenly, her own gun held steady.

That was the signal she was waiting for. Arianna had known what would happen, move by move, thanks to Raina. She'd chosen the best moment to intervene, and that was it. Before anyone knew what was going on the young woman jumped off her seat, flipped right over the table, to land just behind Rumlow, who was just about to drop his gun. It wouldn't have ended there, Aria knew that much, but she would never allow him to do what he'd planned. Before he could react to her presence right at his back Aria pressed a hand to the bare skin to the side of his neck, unleashing the full power of her Empathy on his, dropping him. A fraction of a second later she kicked the chair the techie was on hard enough to drop him to the floor, before throwing herself down, right in time for the bullet being shot by a random HYDRA Agent in her direction to miss her head.

The exchange of fire lasted no more than a minute. Then, as Carter began giving orders to get control of things Arianna jumped back onto her feet, pulling a flash-drive from a hidden pocket in her jacket. She connected it into the nearest computer, typing in a command before anyone could turn towards her.

"What did you just do?!" Carter demanded as she turned towards her.

"Special virus, made by a hacker I know." Aria told her honestly; she liked Sharon Carter, if it weren't for the mission they might have even become friends. "If anyone wants to launch those helicarriers they will have to do it in person."

It had taken months for Skye to create that program, a true piece of genius. That was part 1 of the plan taken care of. For the next she'd need to get outside, make sure the ones who might try to launch those helicarriers personally, would fail. She took just a moment to press a hand to the trembling techie's temple, just enough to help him calm down before he had a mental breakdown (the poor man, he'd been so brave, then couldn't handle it). She didn't wait for a reply from her former partner, leaving the Control Room swiftly. She certainly didn't expect Sharon to follow right behind her.

"Grayson… Grayson… Arianna!" The blonde cried out.

"I'm on the clock Sharon, cannot stop and chat." Arianna replied evenly.

"What are you doing?" Sharon demanded. "What did you do back there?"

"I did what needed to be done, to make sure innocents will be safe." Aria answered calmly. "As for how I did it, I'm gifted. An Empath, to be precise. No, SHIELD doesn't know it, I'm not a mutant, they don't have a way to detect what I am. Right now I'm going to the helicarriers, to make sure they really won't be launched."

"Why are you doing this?" Carter inquired, confused.

"Because someone needed to do it." The empath shrugged.

"You knew." Sharon breathed out and froze in shock. "About all this. HYDRA, Rumlow, all of it. You knew. How long?"

"Before I ever joined SHIELD." Arianna finally stopped, several feet ahead of her. "I'm sorry Sharon. You're a wonderful person and I honestly wish we could have been friends… though I know that's a hard thing to do when neither of us is fully honest about herself."

"It's the job." Carter tried to be dismissive, but Aria could tell it was failing.

"Maybe." The smaller woman let out a sigh. "For what it's worth, I do wish we could have met in different circumstances. I honestly think we could have been friends."

The sound of shooting somewhere nearby broke the moment. Sharon pulled out her gun in reflex, turning around to make sure it was safe. By the time she turned back, Arianna was gone.

Aria for her part had just made a decision. She activated the comm in her ear, knowing it'd go straight to whoever was in the Communications Room; she could only pray it'd be someone willing to work with her.

"Hello?" She called. "Anyone there?"

"Maria Hill…" The voice on the other end replied. "Who is this?"

"A friend." Arianna answered enigmatically. "Told you, you had friends in here, Agent."

"You're the sister who helped Nick." Maria realized.

"I am, and I'm willing to help you too." Aria replied evenly. "If you give me the chance."

"What kind of chance?" Hill wasn't willing to commit herself without knowing.

"Link me into the system, so everyone will hear me." The empath replied. "I know you might have a hard time trusting me Agent. But people are dying, innocent people."

"And you think you can stop it from happening?" Maria practically snorted.

"I can try." Arianna whispered. "If you give me the chance."

Thankfully the Deputy Director did not ask for details, Arianna was quite sure she would have thought her crazy. A short ring in her ear announced the moment she was linked. Aria sent a short prayer to the Higher Powers that Maria wouldn't cut her off before she was done. Through it all she never stopped moving, she still had to get to the helicarrier after all, a battle was waiting for her; but before, she would fight a very different one, in her very own special way. By singing:

"I see the look in your eyes,

I know you're thirstin' for blood

I feel it stirring inside,

But you got nothing on us"

"You want a war,

You don't know what you're asking for

You want a war,

You don't know what you're asking

You want a war,

You don't know what you're asking for

You want a war, you want a war"

"Bring on the fire and bring on the storm

We'll still be here when it's all said and done

Burn down the bridges and tear down the walls

We'll still be standing invincible

Invincible"

Aria knew many would snort at her singing, but that didn't matter, not if it worked… and it would work. She concentrated, putting all her power behind her voice, behind every word. It was important. People needed to understand what they were really doing, the consequences. And if at least some took what she was singing to heart, chose to step back, to give up the war… then it would be worth it. Then she and the others would deal with those that chose not to stand down.

"Thunder in my chest,

Adrenaline in my veins

You better bring your best,

If you wanna play my game"

"You want a war,

You don't know what you're asking for

You want a war,

You don't know what you're asking

You want a war,

You don't know what you're asking for

You want a war, you want a war"

"Bring on the fire and bring on the storm

We'll still be here when it's all said and done

Burn down the bridges and tear down the walls

We'll still be standing invincible

Invincible"

Eventually things seemed to calm down. There was no more shooting, no more people killing each other for stupid reasons. Yet it wasn't over, not yet. She could sense it, the Soldiers had arrived… and so had her siblings, and Captain Rogers. The true confrontation was about to begin. The time had come, for the battle to be fought, for HYDRA to burn down, for them to be free…

"Bring on the fire and bring on the storm

We'll still be here when it's all said and done

Burn down the bridges and tear down the walls

We'll still be standing invincible

Invincible

Invincible"

**xXx**

They'd once been called Winter Soldiers. The most proficient assassins HYDRA had been able to find, put together, trained by the very best, including the original Soldier, and then experimented on with the serum the First Soldier had stolen from Howard Stark before disposing of him and his wife (on orders from his 'handlers'). In recent years they'd come to be known simply as the Death Squad. Because HYDRA refused to call them Winter Soldiers when so many of the public were beginning to relate that name with heroism, all because of the original one. Because he'd somehow managed to slip his leash, to reclaim his identity… they'd tried by all means to recover him, to 'reclaim the asset', but it was useless. And that was without mentioning the girls who'd taken to following him, the Sisters of Winter…

After Aria's song pretty much put an end to most of the stand-offs in the Triskellion, and a few loyal SHIELD Agents dealt with the few HYDRA ones who refused to stand down; the Death Squad, STRIKE and Pierce himself were all that was left. Fury and Darcy were dealing with Pierce (Natasha had offered, but Darcy wanted to make sure Fury wouldn't do something stupid, like release all the top-secret info of both organizations into the internet). Sharon Carter had joined with Melinda May, Phil Coulson and Mike Peterson, and together they were dealing with the STRIKE team (those who hadn't made it to the Council Room, therefore becoming Darcy's and Nick's problem).

Outside, Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff stood before one of the helicarriers, he in his old CA uniform, she in tactical clothes; waiting to see who would come at them to get the helicarriers into the air (they'd been informed of what one of the Agents had done to make sure it'd have to be done in person. Rogers had chosen to forego Fury's original plan of switching the targeting chips, not wanting to give control of such a weapon to anyone unless it was absolutely necessary (with all the secrecy going on he wasn't sure he trusted anyone at present). Above their heads Sam Wilson, code-named Falcon, was keeping watch, ready to make sure others wouldn't try and attack his new friends from behind.

They saw them arrive then: four men and one woman, all dressed in dark armored attires. Rogers was beginning to wonder if it had been a bad idea to tell Stark and the others to stay in NY rather than fly there to help, when he saw other people arrive. From his left came two individuals: a woman in a dark Chinese-style, long-sleeved, high-necked tunic with red lining and loose pants; the truly shocking part was the spikes that covered her head in place of hair. Beside her was a man who looked very much like the members of the Death Squad, with the dark tactical clothes, the googles and face mask; except he had a metal arm and his shaggy brown hair was loose (the girls had insisted on James covering himself like that, as they really did not have the time for Steve Rogers to lose it at the sight of his best friend… not until the battle was over).

"We're on your side." She spoke first, addressing him directly.

"Who are you?" Steve asked, not knowing what else to say.

"Raina Zabo, but you may call me Angel." She answered calmly. "And you may call him the Winter Soldier."

"The Winter…" His eyes widened even as he turned towards Natasha.

They both remembered the story the Black Widow had told him two days prior, about the almost mythical assassin, and how things seemed to have changed all of a sudden, almost twenty years earlier. The redhead for her part was looking more than a little shocked, a single word escaping her lips, seemingly without her even noticing:

"Yasha…" She breathed out.

Steve noticed she was rattled, and while he wanted to offer help, he knew it wasn't the time, so instead he focused on the matter at hand, and the newcomers:

"You are…" He began, addressing the odd-looking woman, not sure how to put it.

"I am one of the Sisters of Winter." Raina nodded, as serene as ever. "Like I said, call me Angel. My sisters are coming. Queen…"

As if on cue, a young woman, two years or so younger than the first one, in dark jeans, leather jacket, boots and gauntlets, honey brown hair in a tight ponytail, dropped from a higher level, somehow landing with the same ease as if she'd just walked down a simple step on a staircase. With her was a man, dark hair, also in tactical clothes but wearing a leather jacket, guns already in his hands.

"I am Daisy Johnson, this is Grant Ward." She spoke for the two of them. "Like Angel said, I am one of the Sisters, I am Queen, and Songstress…"

Again it seemed to be some kind of cue, as the final member of the group stepped out of a nearby door (one that lead into the Triskellion properly) to join them. Since she had been working at a desk for a while, Arianna was the only one not in fighting clothes of any kind, wearing instead a light-blue button-up blouse, with a navy skirt to just bellow her knees and sensible shoes. Not the best clothes to fight in, but she'd make do (at least they weren't heels). Anyway, it's not like she was planning on fighting freaking super-soldiers hand-to-hand, she wasn't that insane.

"Arianna Grayson, also known as Songstress." She handled her own introduction.

"You were the one singing a couple of minutes ago." Steve realized.

"I was." Aria nodded. "It's part of my power."

It was obvious Steve wished to ask questions, a lot of them, but there was no time.

"It's time." Raina announced, pulling back the sleeves of her tunic, allowing the thorns on her hands to rise.

And so the battle began.

**xXx**

The battle was like nothing Steve could have ever expected, even if he'd known beforehand the kind of people that would be involved in it. He didn't know most of those involved though, which was why he made such an effort to keep an eye on everyone at least for the first few minutes, to try and make sure no one found themselves in over their head. The first thing he noticed was that the Winter Soldier did not seem to be the slightest bit worried about the three ladies calling themselves his sisters. Either he didn't care, or he trusted them that much.

Rogers watched Angel pull a collapsible staff from her back, throwing it to Songstress, who caught it on one hand, spun it in place even as she clicked something, allowing it to reach its full length (almost her own height); at the same time she kicked her shoes off, leaving her standing barefoot on the cold cement floor, though that didn't seem to bother her at all. Unknown to the Captain (anyone outside of their little family, really) Aria's staff was actually made out of an alloy of steel, mithril (elven pure silver, which Helena had gotten for them) and a small amount of vibranium.

On this one, James, Raina and Gordon had worked together to find Klaue, capture him, track down where he kept the vibranium he'd stolen from Wakanda, get it; then they'd delivered criminal and cargo to King T'Chaka, who'd insisted on paying them back with one of the containers of the recovered vibranium. The amount of the metal hadn't been big, but still, they'd divided it, using it to reinforce James's metal arm, as well as the gauntlets Daisy wore in battle, line particular areas of Raina's tunic (as she was, objectively, the most vulnerable of them and needed the additional protection), and finally as part of Aria's battle-staff.

James, Steve and Natasha, being (objectively) the strongest and with the most experience, took on each one of the assassins. Skye could have dealt with one herself, thanks to her own gifts, but she decided to work together with Grant. Raina and Aria paired up, taking on the last one together while Falcon kept an eye on them all from the air.

James was the first to kill his opponent, which wasn't really surprising, considering he'd been one of those involved in their training. He also finished off the one Romanoff had been fighting, when bullets proved to not be enough, and no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't break his neck). Grant emptied both his guns (actual guns, not ICERs) on another before he'd to accept that it wasn't working. The assassin he was going against took advantage, the moment the agent ran out of ammo, to throw himself against him. Daisy's reaction was automatic. Until then she'd been holding back, while she might be willing to kill, it still wasn't her first instinct. But the moment the assassin threatened someone she cared for… then all bets were off. Rogers was the next to kill off his opponent, with help from his shield. Then turned in time to watch the last one fall, not to Songstress, who'd taken the lead throughout most of the fight; but instead to Angel, who'd pulled out a thorn (after a closer look Rogers decided they looked more like thorns than spikes) from her own body, using it to stab the side of the assassin's neck while her sister kept him distracted.

"You could have ended the fight a lot sooner if you had just killed him yourself." Romanoff stated evenly, looking straight at Songstress. "You had several opportunities. Why didn't you?"

"Because it goes against everything I am." Aria answered calmly.

"What?" Natasha practically spat. "You think you're better than us or something?"

Skye practically snarled, but Grant held her back; he might not know the smaller woman, but he had a feeling she could hold her own.

"Be careful how you speak, Miss Romanova." Aria stated, purposefully using the redhead's original surname. "And try not to twist my words to suit your own beliefs. I never said I believed myself to be any better, or worse, than you. We each are who we are, and we deserve respect. I respect that you might kill your enemies, respect that I don't unless I absolutely have to." Her expression softened as she added. "What you need to understand here, is that I am an Empath. I feel… everything. I felt their strength, their darkness, their desire to kill and destroy, I felt their anger, their pain, and even, to a certain degree, their release. I felt each of them die. I can handle that, because I know it's necessary. But I will not be the one to cause that, not unless the lives of me and mine depend on it."

It was quite evident that Romanoff did not know how to reply to that; but that was okay, Aria wasn't expecting an answer anyway.

"We need to go." Raina announced abruptly.

"What…? Why?" Steve wanted to know. "It's over."

"Exactly, you need us no more." Raina stated calmly. "It's time for us to take our leave."

"You should stay, let me thank you…" Rogers began.

"As nice as the sentiment is, Captain, you must know that most will not agree with you." Arianna told him calmly. "Which why it might be better if we just leave."

"What about your job?" Natasha wanted to know. "Aren't you an Agent of SHIELD?"

"I was." The Empath shrugged just a bit. "Sent my resignation early this morning. They might or might not have seen it yet. Cannot say I care that much at this point. From the moment I first arrived to the SHIELD Academy, this was the goal." She gesture to their surroundings. "To take down HYDRA, for good. It might not be over just yet, but we're closer than we've ever been to getting exactly that. To finally, finally being free…"

At a silent signal from Raina Aria gave a single step back, extending both hands in a somewhat dramatic fashion, in time for her sisters to each take hold of one, a fraction of a second before Gordon teleported in, then out, with all of them; leaving Steve, Natasha, and the just-landed Sam standing alone in the hangar.

"Did that… did…" Wilson couldn't seem to find the words to express himself.

"Yes, that just happened." Natasha answered anyway.

"Oh man… that was nuts! Just…" Sam began almost babbling.

Natasha made a comment every so often, only half noticing Steve's silence. She thought it was related to the sudden disappearance of the group of gifted; and while that was part of it, there was a lot more… she didn't realize that the Captain's eyes were fixed straight on an object on the ground: a pair of goggles… at the same time as a corner of his brain yelled at him he'd most definitely seen those blue eyes before, a long time ago…

**xXx**

The doorbell rang, and when Aria opened the door to reveal Steve Rogers on the other side she wasn't surprised at all. Raina had warned them he'd find them. Not like it was that hard, she had been an Agent of SHIELD until the day before after all, anyone could find where she lived; she actually would have taken offense (in her brother's name) if the man hadn't gone find them. Daisy's team had gotten in touch the previous afternoon, the moment they had a few minutes free, and the only reason they weren't around in that moment was because they didn't want to risk drawing Fury's attention. Rogers either did not think about that, or he believed those at SHIELD to be busy enough with the mess in their hands to bother with the Winter Soldier and his sisters (he was probably mostly right about that, actually).

What Arianna definitely wasn't expecting was when she saw the person standing a couple of steps behind Rogers. Hazel eyes opened wide as the short woman practically eeped.

"Raina!" She cried out automatically, she really didn't like when her sister kept things from her.

"Like your surprise?" The seer asked in turn, with not an ounce of regret.

"Did you really think I wouldn't come?" Sharon half-asked, half-demanded, moving past Steve and into the room.

"SHIELD doesn't have the best track record where it comes to gifted, nor does your family." Arianna explained, very quietly.

"I'm not my grandmother, and I'm more than my SHIELD status." Sharon pointed out very seriously. "I have nothing against you being gifted. What I do have something against is you lying to me, since the day we met! I thought we were friends Ari!"

"We are!" The empath hurried to reassure her.

"Are we?" Sharon insisted. "How can we be friends if I'm not sure I know you at all?"

The auburn haired gifted had no idea what to say to that.

"Because you do know her..." Daisy offered quietly, stepping out of the kitchen. "Hello Agent Carter, my name is Daisy Johnson, one of Aria's sisters. Also, I'm technically part of SHIELD as well, under the name of Skye Zabo."

"You lied about yourself to get into SHIELD as well." Sharon's dark brown eyes narrowed.

"To be fair, I didn't go into things with the aim to join SHIELD." Daisy offered with a small smile. "For me… for all of us, this was about taking HYDRA down. I joined the Rising Tide, and eventually that brought me to the attention of a SHIELD team. And that's why I'm speaking up now, because I know what you're feeling. That you cannot know people. I myself spent more than a handful of nights wondering how true my bonds of friendship with my team were, when they didn't really know me… until I realized, they did. In the end, Daisy, Skye, Mary Sue… those are just names. Even my powers, they might be a part of me, but they do not define me. My actions, my choices, my beliefs, those are the things that define me. My team knows all that, they accept every piece of me; and yes, it was hard for them, to discover how much I'd kept hidden, but in the end they, if not understood it, at least accepted it. They accepted me. You may not have known Aria's other name, or that she was gifted, but you did know her. The question is, now that you've seen the pieces that were missing, can you accept her?"

"Of course I can!" Sharon didn't even hesitate.

That was all Aria needed to throw herself into Sharon's arms, embracing her tightly.

Eventually a male voice, coming from the small hall leading to the bathroom and two bedrooms, interrupted the moment:

"So punk, you here about the little misses, or about me?" James asked in a drawl.

Steve's eyes opened wide as his head snapped up, following the voice instinctively. He looked like a slight breeze could have knocked him down right then. The girls just let out a breath, James was never going to change…

"It is you…" The blonde super-soldier breathed out in a mix of disbelief, delight and what might almost be called fear. "But… how?"

"That, is a very long story." James stated, gruffly, "You're not going to like it."

If he was honest with himself, he'd expected that much. Even though, before that very moment, he couldn't have been sure that his suspicions were true; the mere thought of James being alive, having survived not just the fall off that train, but all the years since… it had seemed too crazy to be possible and yet, there it was. Yeah, Steve already knew he was not going to like that story. And judging by the tense looks James's self-proclaimed sisters sent each other, it was going to end up being worse than anything he could imagine.

It was beyond worse, it was beyond anything any sane person could have ever conceived. Steve just couldn't comprehend how any man could go through so much and remain sane… and then he looked at the people in the room: at the three women that at first glance looked like they were resting carelessly on various pieces on furniture and yet… on second glance he could pick up on it, the way each of them had oriented themselves towards Buc… James, they called him James, he preferred that name, he had to remember that. Aria, Daisy and Raina, they were all standing guard, even if they didn't make it obvious, showing their support in a passive way, and at the same time ready to jump to their brother's defense if he or Sharon (or anyone else) so much as gave them a reason.

"Thank you…" He whispered, very softly, looking at each of the ladies in turn.

He didn't elaborate, and they didn't ask him to. In that moment they all understood one another just fine.

**xXx Skye's POV xXx**

We were hoping for some peace, at least for a little while, but because the universe likes to fuck with us, it didn't last more than two weeks. The battle at the Triskellion had gone almost fully unnoticed by anyone not SHIELD (or HYDRA) thanks in no small part to us. Fury and those he'd confirmed were loyal (unknowingly with some help from my people) were consistently taking down the pockets of HYDRA Agents as they were revealed. The higher ups had already been taken down, by pursuing them for the crimes they had committed, which being HYDRA had protected them from. Not anymore.

AC and the team had agreed to help secure one of the toughest bases with the condition that, afterwards, they'd all be released from SHIELD to work as a separate team. We'd be joining them then. I had offered to help them with the mission, but even AC didn't fully trust Fury not to screw with us, so at his insistence I was staying away until it was all official. Ward, though, had to go (we somehow managed to keep the fact that he'd technically been HYDRA a secret from everyone). The few who knew were either imprisoned (and no one would trust their word) or dead, Garrett included.

In the meantime we were all staying together, in New York. The last part was at Captain Rogers's (Steve, he'd insisted we call him Steve) insistence. He wanted to spend time with James, get to know his old friend, almost brother again, and he'd known that we wouldn't be letting James go alone, not with someone we didn't trust yet. It didn't matter if he was a national icon, we didn't know him, had no reason to trust him with one of the most important people in our lives. Steve understood that, he'd apparently made some kind of arrangement with Tony Stark, and so we were living in NY, in a floor that had been assigned just to the four of us. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, though I knew some would have liked to make it more permanent; and not just because they wanted at least some of us to join their team.

James was, of course, spending a lot of time not just with Steve, but also with Natasha, it would seem the two of them had known each other in the past, he'd been one of her trainers back in Russia, in the Red Room. Raina was happy, being in a place where she could take off her choker, be herself and be sure people wouldn't flinch away from her (Tony had in fact gone straight to her and asked her all sorts of questions, infinitely curious about why she was how she was, what her thorns were made of, everything). Aria… she was officially considered to be on leave (someone somewhere refused to sign off on her resignation); and Sharon had followed us to NY, kept trying to talk her into taking AC's old place as liaison with the Avengers, and hopefully with our own future team: the Sentinels.

I missed Grant like hell. Wasn't sure when exactly it was that I decided I loved him, but I did, and the kiss he planted on me before leaving with the team certainly told me he loved me as well. I was planning on having a very serious talk with him when they returned, for leaving me like that. I looked like an idiot! How dare he just kiss me and run away?! In any case, I was having fun with Tony (who turned out to be IronSmith) we talked about everything, from computers and hacking, to his infinite curiosity about gifted. Apparently he'd known and supported mutants for a long time, considered Charles Xavier family in fact; but he'd never known there were other groups, like my own people, the inhumans.

That particular day we were in our private floor, having some time to ourselves, when JARVIS informed us that our presence was requested on the common floor. Apparently Asgardians had just arrived, there was some serious mess going on and they were requesting our help.

"Why us?" I asked straight out as soon as we arrived to the common floor.

"Because you're girls!" Tony announced with a cackle.

That confused me and I turned to see the one who'd delivered the message. It was a man, in armor, he looked to be of Asian descent… except I was quite sure he wasn't human at all.

"Hogun the Grim is who I am, my ladies." The man explained evenly. "The threat upon us is Aesir in origin, I'm afraid. A sorceress by the name of Lorelei has been causing havoc."

"She very powerful?" James wanted to know. "Why are you looking for girls to fight her? Is it some honor thing?"

"No, it's not a matter of honor." Hogun shook his head. "Lorelei isn't very powerful in war magicks, but her specialty lays elsewhere. She has the ability to enthrall men. She makes them serve her, turns them into her slaves. She has managed to turn some of the very best of us before fleeing Asgard to come here. Prince Thor told me to seek the Avengers, that they'd be able to help, though I fear what Lorelei might do with your skills, were she to take you over."

"Which is why you only want us girls." I finished for him.

It sounded logical.

What none of us were expecting was the moment someone else spoke up: Aria.

"Who?" She called, the tension in her body belying the softness of her question. "Who has she taken over?"

"Two of my closest companions: Fandral and Volstagg." The man admitted. "Many good Aesir soldiers and… and Prince Loki."

Aria seemed to go pale so fast I feared she might faint or something. But just a second later her whole body straightened up and I knew then she was more than ready to do war. My sister would make this Lorelei pay for taking what was hers… and I'd help her.

No one could have possibly missed the tension in my sister as we all got ready to fight. Raina and I were wearing the same thing we had during the confrontation at the Triskellion; Aria on the other hand had pulled on her own version of a fighting ensemble which consisted of an almost floor-length short-sleeved dress with a slit on the front, short-shorts underneath, a sheer long-sleeved undershirt, knee-high boots and fingerless gloves, all in shades of violet, topped with a metallic belt where she could secure her collapsible staff, some of her throwing knives (James had gotten her many of those, some which she strapped to different parts of her body, or slipped into her boots instead) and the ICER FitzSimmons had gifted her on my request. Yet it wasn't even that, it was the way she stood, the way she took the lead of our little group.

"What has got the little miss so fired up?" Tony asked me conversationally.

He'd insisted on tagging along, though he'd promised that once the battle started he'd focus on damage control and put all control of himself and the armor in FRIDAY's hands (with her being a female AI we hoped it'd be enough).

"It's complicated Tony." I sighed.

And really, how was I supposed to explain to him, to anyone who Loki was to my sister when the two of them had never so much as laid eyes on each other in their current lives and no one remembered what had happened in Aria's last incarnation?

Even with all the messiness, I could have snorted when we finally arrived to where the battle was taking place, on the southern half of Morningside Park, where Thor and some others were doing their best to keep things contained so as not to risk civilians. I couldn't help but wonder how it was that Thor hadn't been taken over, until I noticed Dr. Jane Foster standing on the background, eyes fixed straight on him, she was dressed in what were clearly Asgardian clothes, a turquoise blue gown and platinum armor, there was even a shield on her arm, though she wasn't actively part of the fight, just standing on the edges, acting as look-out. I wondered if that meant the two of them had sealed their match…

Aria had explained to me everything about matches, soulmates… I knew Lincoln was that for Raina, even if she refused to do anything about it, out of fear of him rejecting her, which had to be stupid, how can someone reject their own soulmate? Then again, I refused to so much as wonder about such topic where it came to Grant so… Loki was Aria's match, there was no doubt about that, but since they hadn't so much as met since she died and was reborn, apparently that meant their bond was dormant, and thus it couldn't protect him from Lorelei's dark tricks. I was sure she'd be taking care of that, and soon.

What made me snort, though, was the fact that everyone seemed to be expecting my sister to throw herself into battle guns blazing (or knives blazing, whatever), with the way she'd been acting since we were still in the tower. Only for them to almost drop in shock when instead she began humming…

It was not a song, in the strictest sense of the word; there were no words, only the humming. But those details mattered little; like Aria had explained once, her power did not lay in the songs themselves, but in her voice. Humming was easier when she was a child, back when she had trouble finding the right words to express herself (aside from that one song she'd used to free our brother, though she was convinced her past-self had intervened for that one, before she knew it, and herself enough to unify all the sides of her); there was a reason why James had always called her 'hummingbird' (which was ridiculous, considering that particular bird wasn't a songbird, as the reason for its name came from the sound its wings made, rather than it singing… but again, those were just details).

It took less than a minute. I could sense it through the vibrations in the world, the moment some dark energy that had been choke-holding so many suddenly snapped, releasing them. Around us all dozens of men swayed where they stood, some went as far as dropping to the ground. In the distance, a female voice (so high it almost sounded like nails on a blackboard) screeched her denial. I could only laugh.

Of course, even Aria's prodigious gift couldn't be enough to release them all, that would have been too easy. There were those Lorelei had a tighter hold on, which regretfully included several Aesir, Loki most notably among them.

"Sisters…" Arianna called, very softly.

"We've got this." I nodded right away. "You focus on him."

Aria directed one quick, dazzling smile at me, and then took off. Raina and I went after Lorelei directly, trusting that the others would be able to handle the few she still had on her side.

On the way I saw several of the fights taking place: there was a blonde woman dressed in the lightest blue, standing before a huge black wolf; the creature was whining, a deep wound on its flank, close to its right back paw. The woman kept an eye over it (him?) even as she fought the blonde Asgardian with a sword; her own weapons of choice being a set of long stiletto daggers held in between her fingers, as if to simulate claws.

A black-haired woman in dark brown and red had just knocked out one of the other Aesir still being controlled by Lorelei; and judging by the unconscious forms strewn around her she had been responsible for taking many more out of the fight even before our arrival. Thor himself was fighting what looked more like a creature than a man: with bulging muscles, armor and strength that far surpassed that of any mortal.

After a couple of minutes we finally reached Lorelei. She was a redhead, with lightly tanned skin, in a dark green dress with golden accents. After Hogun's brief explanation about her and her capabilities I thought we were ready to handle her… I was wrong.

I thought my powers would be enough to deal with her, with Raina to give a hand, give me a warning when necessary. It never occurred to me that not being strong in war-magicks, didn't mean she didn't know any, and certainly enough to counter anything I could throw at her with my own powers; and I especially forgot to consider the fact that during a fight everything changes so quickly… it was to be expected that Raina wouldn't be able to warn me about everything.

Lorelei managed to get a few licks in, nothing too serious. No, in the end I wasn't the one to pay for my pride, my sister was. When Lorelei sent that energy wave at me I didn't see it coming, Raina did, except not soon enough to warn me about it. So instead she threw me out of the way, and got hit by it instead.

"Sister!" I screeched.

I was horrified, terrified for the life of one of the people I loved most; also, I hadn't the slightest idea what to do…

**xXx Nightingale's POV xXx**

As I walked through Morningside Park, pieces of my old memories, Tinúviel's memories came forth, helping me understand who I was looking at. Like Ylva, who stood protectively over the beast form of her mate: the skinchanger Fenrir, blades in hands as she fought Fandral who, still under Lorelei's allure, had been the one to injure him in the first place. Sif had just knocked out Volstagg, and clearly she had been responsible for knocking down many of the Aesir who'd been taken over by Lorelei. Meanwhile, Thor himself was fighting the Executioner (a part of me wondered how he/it came to be there at all, he'd served Amora, but the Enchantress was dead, had been for centuries!).

I reached Loki soon enough, he was fighting Black Widow, Iron Man and Rescue (whom I'd later learn was in fact Pepper Potts-Stark in a suit made just for her by her husband). The part that surprised me was that he was using his knives, and very little magic. If he'd used any of the battle magic I knew him to be capable of he'd have been able to kill, or at least take them all out in a matter of seconds and yet… he didn't seem to even be trying. A part of me actually wondered if that meant a part of him was actually fighting against Lorelei's thrall… only one way to find out.

I pulled one of my smaller throwing knives from my belt, throwing it in a smooth motion. Just like I expected, Loki caught it deftly in one hand, without even looking at it; still, it was enough to put a sudden stop to the battle.

Loki didn't say a word, he just stared at me, through me… he wasn't really looking at me, even as he cocked his head to a side as if contemplating something. His eyes were glassy and there was no recognition in them. He wasn't himself… I refused to let that stop me. Pitching my voice in such a way that I was almost, but not quite, singing (all elves did it) I called for the stars to bear witness. It was a fairly standard elven prayer, the kind of thing that was said when one was about to do something important, something that deserved to be witnessed.

That made him react. It was just for a fraction of a second before his green eyes turned glassy again, but that was all I needed, Pulling the staff from my back, shaking it twice into its full length, I threw myself at Loki.

A staff wasn't my weapon of choice, not really. My main weapon were a bow and arrows, they'd been since my previous life. My second choice, the knives. I knew how to use the staff, but the only reason I'd made it my weapon in my current life was because it was practical; especially when dealing with people who tended to pull out the kind of weapons that couldn't be fought off with just small blades or hand-to-hand.

It took no time at all for Loki's and my fight to become something that could almost be called a dance. It wasn't surprising. We each knew the other's every move; to be expected seeing how we'd trained together and fought side by side for decades. Even with all the changes my current life had brought, I still tended to fall back into the old patterns, and it showed.

I could almost be said to be having fun… almost, except for the part where my match still hadn't recognized me, my heart, my soul, our bond… It didn't matter if my body was different, if I was no longer a she-elf but human, our souls were calling to each other, I could feel it, and the only reason he couldn't was because of the freaking Lorelei Enchantress!

I tried talking to him in the same almost-sung tone of voice I'd used before, tried humming, and even pieces of old songs (songs created by me a lifetime prior), but nothing worked; nothing pulled him out of the thrall for more than a fraction of a second.

And then I felt something off. Had no idea what it was… until I heard one of my sister's scream. For just a moment, the space of a heartbeat I felt pain, Raina's pain, Daisy's pain, one physical, the other purely emotional, but both equally strong. From the corner of my eye I could see the Black Widow take a step forward, she was about to join the battle again. It was then that I decided to risk it all, once and for all. I dropped my staff, pulled the medium length blades from my boots, holding each in one hand, and threw myself straight at Loki.

I threw the knives a few steps away from him, knowing exactly how he was going to react at that. And I was right. He deflected one with a knife in his left hand, pushing it to fall to his side, before extending his right one to catch the other blade. He did exactly as I knew he would, and in the process left himself completely open. It was just for a moment, and I wasn't even planning to use it for fighting purposes. No, instead I threw myself against him, winding my legs around his hips and my arms around his shoulders to hold myself at just the right height to steal his mouth (which looked like he was about to say something cutting, either an insult or a spell) in a kiss.

I could vaguely hear Iron Man's muffled exclamation behind me but I paid it, and him, no attention at all. All my focus was on the body I was holding onto, on the man I refused to let go. I closed my eyes and poured my heart, my very soul into that kiss… For almost a handful of seconds it seemed like my bet had been off, like I had failed and then… the body beneath me didn't sag, not at all, but it did shift somewhat and then… a second later he wasn't just responding to the kiss, he took control, owned it (and me) in such a way that I soon was the one feeling practically boneless in his arms.

We only broke off when my lungs were practically burning with the lack of oxygen, and I had no doubt he must be feeling the same. Even then, he didn't let me go (it was until that moment that I realized he'd wound his own arms around my waist and back at some point).

"A'maelamin…" He practically gasped the moment we separated our lips.

"Fintalëharyon…" I replied in the same tone.

His jade green eyes were practically sparking, and I knew he recognized me even if I looked nothing like I had nine centuries earlier (except maybe my eyes, from what I've been told). He also looked like he really wanted to kiss me again. Only it was right in that moment that I picked up on Raina's pain again and, like a rush of iced water I remembered exactly where we were in that moment, and why. The battle wasn't over just yet.

Almost as if he were reading my mind Loki set me down on my feet, intertwining one of my hands with one of his before we both teleported.

We made it just in time, Daisy was flying through the air and Loki managed to catch her before she could get hurt. Then he put her down before winking at me once and rushing at Lorelei, one blade in each hand.

"No!" Hogun practically cried out as he hurried to us. "Why did you let him do that? Lorelei will just take him over again."

"No, she won't." I told him, very confident.

"How are you so sure?" Fandral (whom apparently the knock-out had managed to free from the Enchantress's control) wanted to know.

"Because Lorelei cannot enthrall a matched man." Ylva informed them as she approached calmly, a limping Fenrir at her side.

Seeing Fenrir made me react, and while I really wanted to go to him, I knew someone else needed me more, so I spun around and rushed to were Daisy was hovering over Raina, trying to find something she could do to help. She wasn't alone either. There was a man there, in blue scrubs and a white coat. I did a double-take when I realized that not only had I seen him before, but I knew exactly who he was: Lincoln Campbell… well, that was certainly the kind of spin I was sure not even Raina could have seen coming!

I pushed that silly thought aside for the time being, dropping to my knees on the other side of the young doctor.

"Are you a doctor?" He asked immediately, even as he kept checking Raina. "She has internal injuries and at least one broken bone. And I have no idea how to even begin treating her, how to make sure I won't end up hurting her further."

"I'm not a doctor." I told him calmly. "But I am a healer. You tell me what needs to be healed and I'll deal with it."

It wasn't quite that simple, of course, but the last thing I wanted to do was overwhelm him. He then began reciting all of Raina's injuries, waiting until I'd place my hands on that spot and they glowed, before saying the next one. I didn't need him for most of them, my powers could have picked them up. But there were a couple, particularly the internal bleeding low in her abdomen, which I had to admit I might not have picked up on, on my own. So I was thankful for his assistance in saving my sister.

Raina recovered consciousness right as I was working on her broken arm (the one she'd fallen on), probably the pain as the bone set. She smiled slightly at me, sending me quiet thanks, before turning to the other side. I could see the exact moment when her mind fully woke up and she realized just who was kneeling beside her, seeing to her injuries. She went so red her face seemed to almost glow beneath her half-broken thorns. And if she hadn't been so badly injured just ten minutes earlier I could have laughed right then. It would seem that even a Seer like Raina could not flee from her destiny… Then again, I'd always known that matches cannot be apart for long, not with their very souls calling to one another…

A smile formed on my face without my planning for it as I sensed the exact moment when Loki appeared behind me, dropping to one knee in time to catch me as I sagged back. Raina's injuries hadn't been a minor thing, she could have died if I hadn't treated her in time, and I could feel the exhaustion creeping in, I hadn't felt so tired since about six months or so after truly beginning my training with James!

"I've got you…" My beloved whispered into my ears.

Yeah, he had me. Everything would be alright, somehow…

**xXx**

Lorelei was dead. There was just no way Loki was allowing her to live, to risk her getting free (again) and doing something even worse next time. Also, no one could fail to notice that Loki and I hadn't let go of each other since the end of the battle.

We were all back in Stark Tower, where Dr. Campbell was overseeing the injured. He'd insisted on staying with Raina until he was sure she'd be alright, and I was sure I'd heard Tony muttering something about poaching the guy since he evidently was a competent doctor and didn't seem to have a problem treating individuals who were… different. My suspicions were confirmed when I vaguely heard Pepper suggesting that they make him a better offer, only for Campbell (who apparently had heard the whole thing) to snort and say that anyone could make him a better offer than what a hospital ER paid a third-year resident. I almost giggled at the thought of what my older sister (Raina) must be thinking…

"Okay spill." Tony demanded once we were all sitting in the common floor. "What's the sitch?"

Loki turned to look at me, silently asking if I wished to handle introductions myself, or let him do it; of course I did it myself.

"Currently my name is Aria Johnson, former Agent of SHIELD, empath, and known across the world as Songstress, one of the Sisters of Winter." I announced calmly.

There were various reactions from the people on the room, depending on what piece of that intro they chose to focus on. Most were apparently most shocked by the whole 'Sister of Winter' thing; either because with my size they weren't expecting me to have that kind of reputation (as one of the sisters of a legendary assassin) or it was just the fact that I wasn't currently blonde… however there was one person who focused on a different detail.

"You were SHIELD?" It was Agent Barton doing the asking.

"I was, for about four years, not counting the time spent in the Academy." I nodded calmly. "I did that under the name of Arianna Grayson, though. And before that… before my father was killed under HYDRA's orders, for reasons we could never fathom, I had yet another name, one that doesn't matter anymore, hasn't for almost twenty years now."

"So… you knew about HYDRA all this time?" Natasha wanted to know. "Why not tell us?"

"Tell who exactly?" Daisy demanded, defensive. "How were we supposed to know who we could trust? How were we supposed to even begin to believe that you weren't all exactly the same? My parents were experimented on and murdered by HYDRA, I was hunted down by them as well, not to mention the ones who actually got me, Raina, and eventually Aria; oh and they actually told us they were SHIELD!"

"You were experimented on?" Jane was horrified by that.

"It's how Raina's and my abilities manifested." Daisy nodded seriously. "They got us from the orphanage, along with a bunch of others. Only three of us survived. Aria came later, they got her while trying to get the Winter Soldier back. It's how we met. James was the one who got us all out. JT took off, but Raina and I chose to stay, we chose to be family…"

"We never wanted any trouble, yet trouble just kept finding us." James stated bluntly. "After a while we were all forced to accept that HYDRA would never leave us alone, not by their own will. So we began planning… I actually didn't want them to get involved, but it was their choice. So they changed their names, and following Raina's visions each went to where they needed to be. Raina got the attention of one of the smaller groups vying for HYDRA's attention, Aria joined SHIELD as an Agent, while Daisy went around as a hacktivist until the right moment came and she was picked by Coulson's team. Then, when it all came down, we met again in the Triskellion to put an end to things once and for all."

"As interesting as all that is, that doesn't explain what the little lady's connection with Reindeer Games is." Tony called in a drawl, making it seem like he was less interested in the whole thing than I knew him (sensed him) to be.

"It's not easy to explain." I admitted softly. "The simplest way to put it is to say that a lifetime ago, and I mean that literally and not just in paper, I was Princess Tinúviel of Alfheim and Asgard. I was Loki's wife…"

"That's impossible!" Several of the Aesir present.

"We'd know." Thor stated, very solemnly.

"No, you wouldn't." No one, not even I, expected it when Ylva came on our defense.

All eyes turned to her, and to the dark-haired man in dark hunting clothes standing next to her, his right flank and all the way to his thigh were bandaged. He was the humanoid form of Fenrir.

"Lady Ylva?" Thor called, hesitant, seemingly not knowing how to ask for an explanation.

"You wouldn't remember because the Allfather erased Her Highness from all minds in an attempt to protect his son from the insanity of the broken bond after her passing." Ylva explained very quietly. "The only reason I remember is because the enchantment did not affect Fenrir, who is my own match. It took a while but eventually our bond allowed my own memories to re-establish themselves. And I know as much as I do in the first place, because there was a time when I was more than just a Valkyrie. I was Princess Tinúviel's head handmaiden, and proud of it."

"You were also my friend Ylva, my family, you and Fenrir both." I assured them kindly.

Ylva nodded with the same grace as ever, while Fenrir showed a toothy grin. I wasn't sure which he was most delighted about: the fact that the man he saw as his father (Loki) was happy again, that I was back, that he was with his match, that he was free… it was probably a mix of them all.

"Sif was also a very dear friend." Loki offered with a very provocative tone.

I rolled my eyes, knowing he'd said it like that in order to provoke her, then turned to the black-haired warrior-lady and nodded seriously so she would know that no, Loki wasn't lying.

"I don't remember." Sif stated quietly.

"I know." I nodded. "I don't expect you to. Same as I don't expect Thor or anyone else to know me. Loki has remembered me, and that's enough for me."

"The Allfather is not going to give you an easy time." Jane offered hesitantly, playing with the bracelet (the betrothal gift!) around her wrist.

I knew there was a story there. Could only imagine how Odin Allfather had reacted to his first-born, his heir, choosing a mortal woman as his intended. Considering how hard it had been to get him to accept me, and being a she-elf I already had the same lifespan, and was even technically royalty! Yeah, it couldn't have been easy; but true love hardly ever is, and it tends to be worth it, so I wasn't going to lose my mind over that.

I was not going to Asgard though, or at least, not anytime soon. I'd already had a hushed talk on the matter with Loki, and knew I'd probably be having a rather long argument with Thor. But my mind was made up. It wasn't even because of Odin, or at least not just him. Yeah, I knew he was unlikely to like me, or accept me; and regardless of how Jane might have managed to make them bend the whole 'no mortals in Asgard' rule for her, they were unlikely to do so for me; and gifted or not, I was very much mortal still… I thought. (Wasn't 100% sure, Helena could never be certain, because I was still aging, but I had the gifts of my elven life so… it was complicated). In the end it wasn't about that, it was about family, my family. Daisy, Raina and even (especially) James, they needed me; they'd been there for me when I had needed them, and I wasn't about to abandon them, not even for the love of my existence. And I didn't need to. Loki loved me and he understood me and he was willing to accept my decision.

Tony insisted on ordering enough food for all of us, then there were drinks and… we just got talking. Each of us taking turns to say something about us, about our lives. We were… bonding, strange as it might have seemed. By the end of the night I knew I'd be taking the job as liaison for SHIELD (Sharon would be delighted); I was also willing to fight though, with the threat of HYDRA gone, I was beginning to remember why I'd never been much of a warrior in the past. Much is said about necessity, and adapting… but it wasn't needed anymore. I'd been a warrior when it was necessary, but if it wasn't anymore… maybe it was time I discovered what I really wanted to do with this new life of mine.

One thing was for sure though, and Loki certainly knew to exploit it:

"Sing for me my Nightingale..." It was the first time he called me that, but it was fitting, and not only because it was the English version of the elven name he'd once given me. "I haven't heard you sing in a lifetime and I miss it."

I didn't point out he couldn't have missed anything of me when, until earlier that same day, he hadn't even remembered I so much as existed. I understood the sentiment anyway. So I did as asked. After stopping for a handful of seconds to contemplate I took a deep breath and began:

"I won't just survive

Oh, you will see me thrive

Can't write my story

I'm beyond the archetype"

"I won't just conform

No matter how you shake my core

'Cause my roots—they run deep, oh"

"Oh, ye of so little faith

Don't doubt it, don't doubt it

Victory is in my veins

I know it, I know it

And I will not negotiate

I'll fight it, I'll fight it

I will transform"

I didn't exactly plan the song, aside from deciding that it wouldn't be one of my old ones; those songs belonged to the past, to a life that was no longer my own. In my current life I'd composed very few songs, and they all belonged to specific people, like my brother, my sisters; then there was what I'd sung in the Triskellion when trying to stop the battle. Yet that moment merited a different kind of song. Also, with everything that happened, I felt the need to let go, so I did…

"When, when the fire's at my feet again

And the vultures all start circling

They're whispering, 'You're out of time,'

But still I rise"

"This is no mistake, no accident

When you think the final nail is in

Think again

Don't be surprised

I will still rise"

HYDRA had fallen (well, it was still the process of… but it's not like they had any hope of truly winning what was going on so…), SHIELD… I actually had no idea what was going to happen to SHIELD, and it was none of my business, beyond my job as liaison, and even if that didn't work out, it's not like I didn't have a standing offer to join two separate superhero teams. My match was willing to stay on Earth with me until I was ready to let my family go (which wouldn't be any time soon, we knew that). And the rest… any other things we would deal with as they came.

"I must stay conscious

Through the madness and chaos

So I call on my angels

They say"

"Oh, ye of so little faith

Don't doubt it, don't doubt it

Victory is in your veins

You know it, you know it

And you will not negotiate

Just fight it, just fight it

And be transformed"

My life had given such turns, from the day the original Winter Soldier made my dad into his last victim, because I followed my instincts and found a way to free him. Everything we went through together; first just the two of us, then we were four; all the good and the bad, it was insane, but I wouldn't change anything, at all, because just standing where I was in that moment, surrounded by my friends my chosen family, and the love of my existence, I knew everything was worth it.

"'Cause when, when the fire's at my feet again

And the vultures all start circling

They're whispering, 'You're out of time,'

But still I rise"

"This is no mistake, no accident

When you think the final nail is in

Think again

Don't be surprised

I will still rise"

"Don't doubt it, don't doubt it

Oh, oh, oh, oh

You know it, you know it

Still rise

Just fight it, just fight it

Don't be surprised

I will still rise"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... did you like it? Hate it? Please let me know! Also, let me know about the whole Teen Wolf thing won't you? Or if you'd rather I focus on another fandom for one of the AUs, I'm open to suggestions (for those who want X-Men, I already have plans for at least two of those, worry not... though specific ideas are still welcome, we could add to that number).
> 
> In three weeks, the beginning of the second AU of this set: meet the protectors of Kings, they're the Daughters of the Sky...

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will be updated in two weeks for the final part. 
> 
> As always, full-sized cover and set of wallpapers can be found on DA


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